What are you fighting for?
by Kazama the shell bullet
Summary: From Naruto's birth and sealing of the Kyubi he was supposed to be hailed as a hero, but not all things go as planned. A scorned boy looking for any form of attention and respects finds it in the form of a boy wearing a mask patrolling as Anbu. How would he develop after meeting him and how would it change his future for the better.
1. Chapter 1

**Well it's about time i get back to writing in general in a contemplated on what to do in general as I focus in refining my stories overall and decided to revisit a series that needed more love in a way. Naruto one of the first series I worked in on the sight and I quit multiple times due to many problems due to the fans or overall seeing Kishimoto's work with the series. I take inspiration and credit from Silver Queen and Kenchi618 so no one can complain on I don't give credit.**

 **He names the series after Naruto, but abuse him and treated his character like trash overall. Overall a main character is suppose to experience growth overall, but they faced a lot of cope out's in the series all together. Overall there were characters in the series that should have been brought up a little more. So in the end I decided to take a stab at the series again.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does and if I was I wouldn't be on fanfiction writing this story.

 **What are you fighting for?**

 **Ch.1 A helping hand**

* * *

 _(Seven years after the Kyuubi attack)_

The eve of the Kyuubi festival as the people of Konoha came out in huge crowds with their families. Many cheered happily and played in the streets, except for one boy who looked on with envy. A seven year old child with blonde hair and blue eyes that sat on top of a building. The blond's most pronounced features were his whisker like birthmarks on his face.

The boy sat there sighing as he saw numerous children having parents that loved and took care of them. For years he was alone, hated, feared, and ostracized. For many years he lived in a state of perpetual hell, the orphanage didn't want anything to do with him. The Hokage himself gave him an apartment to live in, but soon the tenants left to avoid him.

Soon after moving into the new apartment, there were a few breaks in that occurred, leaving large amounts of property damage. He was forced to leave his apartment when his birthday rolled around to avoid drunks calling him a demon. Furthermore, buying stuff from the villagers was terrible too, because they overtaxed and gave him the worst products that never sale to other people. The only people in the village that cared for him was the Hokage, Dog, Teuchi the ramen chef and his daughter Ayame.

She was the one that helped him read and write so he could go to the Academy, but the majority of clan kids got early training that made them do better in class. It placed him at a disadvantage with the other civilian kids. His troubles kept adding up over time, but he had a plan to become Hokage so that make them respect him.

Tonight he came here with a purpose to buy or gather materials for a prank that he needed. He needed paint, balloons, and other amenities to make this work. However, he was hoping he could be able to buy some shinobi gear or festival prizes. He saw the crowd was finally starting to disperse, he quickly tried making his way down the ladder. Yet, someone grabbed him by the back of the collar of his shirt and yanked him up back to the rooftops.

"You do realize how dangerous it is going down there?" a voice called out to him. Naruto turned quickly turned his head in shock. He finally noticed an anbu with a weasel mask with a red triangle on his mask.

"Weasel, what are you doing here?" Naruto shouted in shock. Weasel sets him back down on the roof.

"Well, Dog, asked me to look out for you to make sure you didn't run into trouble tonight. He had an important mission to do for tonight." Weasel announced.

"I see..., however I was planning on going down there to buy a few things myself." Naruto happily told him.

"Ninja equipment right, along with collecting festival prizes?" Weasel guessed as Naruto nodded.

"Of course, when the Academy rolls around again, I will be prepared this time. Hopefully they won't kick me out of class semester next year." Naruto explained as the Anbu stared at him.

"I see, but do you realize that the people down there won't sell anything even if its the right price. Also buying ninja equipment for minors is frowned upon as well expensive for someone your age." Weasel reminded him.

Naruto pouted. "That sucks… why does everyone treat me like I am some…" Naruto muttered.

"Monster." Weasel finished. "You are far from being a monster Naruto, it's just that people don't understand you. They think you are a bad omen due to you being born on the day the Kyuubi attacked." Weasel explained.

"Bad omen…" Naruto muttered in disappointment. Weasel patted Naruto on the head as he looked down at the crowd.

"I might not be able to stop them with insults, glares, or the fact they charge you more. Yet, I can at least help you get started on the right path. How much money do you have on you right now?" Weasel asked.

Naruto took out his cute frog wallet that was bursting fill with money. "Today, I got my rent paid off by the old man as well a lot of birthday money from him. I got um…" Naruto tried counting his money.

Weasel counted up the money for him. "You have 5,000ryo, that is quite a lot for your age, but it's understandable due to the people charging you more." Weasel explained. He closed the wallet up as pocketed in his pouch. He made a ram seal and then placed his palm on Naruto's forehead. A cloud and smoke appeared over Naruto. Naruto looked at his body to see it had changed considerably. "I placed a Henge genjutsu (transformation illusion) over your body. It will help you move through the streets easily. I will hold onto your money for safety reasons, just in case a ninja recognizes the illusion."

Naruto jumped in joy. "This is wonderful, will I be able to learn such a thing in the academy!" Naruto shouted in joy.

"I doubt you would have the aptitude for genjutsu, but the Henge in the academy is acceptable for you. Come on, before it gets to late otherwise the stalls will close and you won't have anything to take home with you." Weasel said as he transformed into a black haired man with brown eyes.

Naruto happily followed Weasel down the building down to the festival. Weasel watched over Naruto carefully, he quickly as he noticed Naruto winning games on the first try. Naruto was fond of games that seemed to gamble the odds, despite never playing them before in his life. Weasel soon had to help carry the boy's toys and candy he won occasional money from games.

They finally made it a particular booth at the end of the block, as they noticed a monk was selling things to customers. "What is this booth for?" Naruto curiously asked Weasel.

The monk spoke up. "It's booth based on a Fuinjutsu aspect of the Shinobi world. I am selling storages scrolls, calligraphy sets, and a book guide on sealing jutsu tonight. But so far I am having no luck in selling the book of the calligraphy sets." the old monk told him.

"Fuinjutsu…" Naruto muttered in confusion.

"It's a type of skill that most people have considered not mastering due to its difficulty in learning as well doing. Most people only try learning the bare basics and that's it." Weasel explained.

The monk nodded. "True, but it requires an intimate knowledge, time, space, and all things. The Uzumaki clan was feared for their prowess with Fuinjutsu and subsequently was attacked by Iwa and Kumo due to their talent. It's a shame that Uzushiogakure was destroyed along with the clan, but their work still lives on." the monk exclaimed leaving Naruto quiet as Weasel picked up on it.

"How much is for the whole set?" Weasel asked him.

The old man chuckled. "I see our young friend here is very interested in learning Fuinjutsu, eh. I will offer a special discount for you my boy, a 1000 Ryo for all of it." the old man told him.

"Deal," Weasel told him as he handed the money. He quickly placed the items within the bag as he dragged along with Naruto. "I can see you are shocked…"

"I had a clan?" Naruto asked Weasel.

Weasel stayed silent for a moment. "Who knows, I have heard rumors there might be other Uzumaki out there in the other countries. They would have profound red hair that helped them stood out of the crowd. However, you didn't inherit that trait, but I have no doubt that at least inherited it's minor Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline ability)." Weasel explained.

"Kekkei Genkai, I have one of those…" Naruto muttered.

"Well, it's nothing like the Hyuga clan's Byakugan or the Uchiha's clan Sharingan. Still, the Uzumaki clan possessed a strong life force, granting them higher chakra reserves and a long life span unlike most people. They can recover quickly from injuries as well from exhaustion in shorter periods of time." Weasel explained.

"That sounds cool." Naruto thought.

"True, not very many are blessed to live with long lives in the Shinobi world. However, before I escort you home, let me give you a piece of advice Naruto and listen carefully. Trying to become Hokage will not happen overnight. You must understand a great deal of history and politics go into play if you want to become Hokage. You will need to be diligent when you train to become a shinobi because not everything is going to be easy." Weasel explained.

"Okay, but what should I do to help make it happen?" Naruto curiously asked.

Weasel shrugged tapping Naruto's forehead. "Use your head a bit more Naruto and learn what is out there. Furthermore, you should quickly master the Henge just (transformation) so you can go to places you couldn't go to normally such as the grocery store. Take the initiative and head over to the library to learn more and don't be discouraged what others say. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to read up on the scroll you got and practice your calligraphy as well. I will make sure you will have everything you will need before you set out for the academy again." Weasel promised.

"You promise!" Naruto asked happily.

Weasel nodded his head. "Of course, I will hold onto your money and purchase some things for you along with actual food." Itachi reminded him.

"Ramen is the best food out there." Naruto pointed out.

"Maybe for you, but it's not healthy overall for your body. It contains a lot of sodium and it doesn't digest properly. It can stunt your growth if you continually eat the food and no one's wants to be the shortest of the class." Weasel reminded Naruto as he pouted. "If you want to try to eat ramen you might well eat the home cooked ramen with low sodium as well vegetables in it. If you can eat something other than ramen for a whole month I will give you a jutsu in exchange." Weasel explained.

"Really you promise!" Naruto shouted happily as Weasel nodded.

"I will be sure to add in a basic cookbook for you to read as well. Since you love watering plants, maybe you should try your hand at gardening as well." Weasel suggested.

"How do you know that I like watering plants?" Naruto curiously asked Weasel.

"Dog told me, but that is not important right now. If you want to improve yourself, you also stop pranking people as well. Becoming Hokage is fine in all, but you can't build up respect from your peers by pranking them as well their families'." Weasel lectured him.

Naruto turned dead quiet. "They deserve it at times." Naruto truthfully admitted.

"Maybe so, but you aren't demanding their respect Naruto, only their attention. Even if you are at rock bottom, you can only go up from here on out." Weasel calmly explained.

Naruto scratched his head for a moment. "True." Naruto admitted.

Weasel nodded. "Let's get you home and put you into bed tonight." Weasel offered.

Naruto agreed as they made their way back to Naruto's apartment.

It took a good thirty minutes to get Naruto back home into bed. Itachi exited the apartment quietly and jumped onto the roof quietly he looked around. "I see that you are here, eh, Shisui." Weasel pointed out.

As a blur passed by in front of him as the Shisui waved hello. "It's good to see you are doing well Itachi, I didn't expect to hang around with him tonight on the day of the festival. I thought your duty was to just watch over him. Shisui pointed out.

"It's more effective if I am closer by him rather than afar Shisui. Besides that he really wanted to go the festival and win something." Itachi pointed out.

"True, the kid has had a rough life to begin with, though you always leave Sasuke out of so many big brother moments. I see your superior has got you watching over him for a while, how long." Shisui asked him.

"At least a month, but I plan on correcting some of his bad habits before they get out of control. I have no doubt that his future pranks will undermine the security of the village. Though I am quite impressed that he prank on Genin and some Chunin. Naruto shows he has some potential in trap making one day. Yet, for tomorrow I plan on getting him ready for the Academy next year by grabbing a few items. I will also make sure he has a fully stocked pantry and books to read over it." Itachi told him.

Shisui looked over the resident. "You might as well give him a basic carpentry manual and repair tools as well." Shisui suggested. "Since I have some free time on my hands, I can help you out with this. That way you can keep focus on watching over him. The week up to his birthday and afterwards, the civilians start acting worse than usual." Shisui pointed out.

"True, but do you realize your birthday is coming up on 19th of this month, right?" Itachi reminded him as Shisui looked up in shock.

"I almost forgot… thanks for reminding me so I can put in order for a vacation time." Shisui told him as Itachi handed the frog wallet to him.

"Thank you for taking your time to help me." Itachi thanked.

"Don't mention, I will be sure to gather all the items on the list. I might be able to swing by and grab some grade A appliances for free, while I am at the market." Shisui told him leaving Itachi confused.

"How will you get all that for free?" Itachi asked him as Shisui smiled turning his back away.

"I have my ways." Shisui told them as he disappeared in flash before Itachi could ask more questions.

.X.

The next morning rolled around as the birds were chirping high in the sky as flash blurred through the streets with ease. Shisui was flashing a huge smile as he hopped along the rooftops. He made it Naruto's apartment complex with relative ease as he landed on apartment complex's rooftop as Itachi joined him.

"I see you are doing well. I take the gathering process wasn't really hard at all." Itachi pointed out.

"It wasn't so hard after I bribed your fan club with personal pics about you." Shisui told him as Itachi shifted uncomfortable.

"You didn't…" Itachi muttered.

Shisui smiled. "Of course, you fail to milk out such opportunities…" Shisui dodged a punch to the shoulder.

"Shisui I thought we agreed to not give out pictures of me to _them_. Last time my brother gave out pictures of me they gave him sweets to appease them." Itachi argued.

"Well, you wanted to stretch out the kids money to last a longer and I did do that. I managed to scrounge around and found some quality goods for cheap too." Shisui told him as Itachi shook his head.

"Fine, but don't do that again, I don't want people handing out pictures to some of the Kunoichi's on the force." Itachi warned him.

Shisui waved his hands. "Don't worry, I didn't include nudity to any of the photo's unlike someone's brother. Let's go meet the kid inside shall we." Shisui told him.

As they dropped down to the actual balcony of the apartment as Itachi used the key to open the apartment door. Shisui saw the apartment was quite clean despite only a kid living here. "Is he still asleep."

They heard the bathroom door open to reveal a Naruto wearing a white shirt with an orange Uzumaki spiral on his shirt, black shorts, and blue sandals. "Weasel what are you doing here. so early and who is this with you?" Naruto shouted happily.

"Yo the name is Shisui Uchiha, Weasel here asked me a favor to help pick up some things for your apartment as well the Academy in his stead. Nice to meet you Naruto-kun, though I am quite jealous you know." Shisui greeted him.

"Nice to meet you two, but why are you jealous?" Naruto curiously asked.

"Well, you already have a bachelor's pad for yourself and you don't have to pay a dime for rent. Plus, you don't have to live up to people's expectations. Man you lead such a free life." Shisui told him as Naruto smiled.

"Maybe, but I am going to be a ninja like you some day too." Naruto told him as Shisui smiled.

"Maybe so, but you need to slow down and enjoy life a bit more Naruto-kun. Being a young ninja is hard on the body, but let's get down to business first. I had a run by through the market area and I brought along a lot of food and some new appliances. So we can install them here together to get a sense on how they work." Shisui told him.

"That sounds boring…" Naruto muttered.

"True, but think of it as training as well." Shisui reasoned.

"Training?" Naruto asked as Shisui nodded.

"Think it of it as an inventory check where you just bought new ninja gear to replace the old things. You would want to check on the value of your old stuff and sell it for cash. As well make note of what you got so you can use for a later date." he reasoned. "Besides that I didn't just come here for that, I thought you wanted some real training for the Academy next time around."

"All right!" Naruto cheered as Shisui unravel a scrolled in the middle of the room as smoke appeared before them. It revealed a stockpile of food and appliances before them.

"So that is what Fuinjutsu can do eh!" Naruto shouted happily.

"Of course, but it's a hard subject because your handwriting has to be spot on. Don't be fooled, sealing can a different number of things, but it's incredible harder to perform." Weasel informed.

It took the three a good hour to help set up some everything and stock the kitchen. Weasel taught Naruto how to cook eggs, rice, sausage, and toast for breakfast. Shisui taught Naruto a few basic stretching exercises before they went outside. As soon as they finished stretching they made their way to the backyard.

"Okay, so what is next?" Naruto enthusiastically asked him.

"Physical conditioning, seeing you are more hardy than regular students. You will run after me as we head across town for five miles to start off and full speed. I also don't want you to stop for one moment as well. You will need to build up a tolerance of traversing distances over time. As well. we will do some jumping exercises around town, so prepare yourself to climb on building as well." Shisui told him.

Naruto nodded as he began following the older boy as Weasel disappeared from sight. Shisui ran at full speed as the Naruto followed him, but he struggled to keep up despite Shisui's brisk jog. There was no doubt that Shisui could leave him in the dust with ease.

The two traveled around Konoha for a good five miles. Shisui made sure to change up the route to ensure Naruto could jump and climb through the streets. He made sure not slow down despite his lungs and body were aching. The two made it to a small lake near the forest as Naruto huffed loudly as Shisui patted him on the head and straighten his body.

"You did a good job for your first time, but you would have a better time breathing, while standing up, Naruto." Shisui carefully explained as Naruto nodded.

He took his time to control his breathing as he looked around to see it was a training field of sorts. It had wooden targets already set up for use as well it had a wooden booth.

"Today, I as your teacher, will be teaching you the basics every to what aspiring Shinobi should know." Shisui lectured. "I will ask you a simple to start things off. Why does the Academy place such an importance of learning the basic techniques.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Well jiji said it's important to have a good basis for learning to be a better ninja. Though I think it's not to be caught off guard or have weakness to something." Naruto surmised as Shisui nodded.

"True, however, I see it's like building a house without a proper support. We all know the building would collapse in an instant. Just because it seems boring it may be important to you later down the road in life or it could be used to help other people out. For today we are going to learn the core basics of what an aspiring shinobi should know."

"What are the core basics again?" Naruto curiously asked him.

"As with any school, students are taught a core curriculum of reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, etc. These lessons are typically framed in a ninja-context, and in fact are learned at all in order to facilitate later instruction in tactics as well learn the proper Shinobi Rules. You will learn how to strengthen your minds and bodies, and receive special lectures from veteran shinobi. Then you are taken through the handling of ninja weapons and tools, learning how to throw and wield them through target practice, as well as instructed on the basics of trap-setting. You will also learn how to use your chakra and perform hand seals." Shisui explained.

"Wait a minute can't you skip ahead and graduate early? How long does it take to pass the Academy?" Naruto frantically asked.

"True, you could take the test early if you feel confident, but overall you will spend four years learning everything you need as well ensure that you know it. There are two portions of the final test, one is a written test and the other is a practical exam. Overall the written test will test you on the knowledge you learn in the Academy and the practical things like shuriken throwing and jutsu." Shisui carefully explained.

"So what are we going to learn today then Shisui-sensei?" Naruto asked him.

"First we are going to learn how to summon your chakra and then hopefully do a little exercise with it. Then we will go through some basics katas learning the Konoha-Ryu or it's called Shorin-ryu, the small forest style." Shisui pointed out leaving Naruto confused.

"Small forest style?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui nodded. "Of course the fighting style encourages dodging and deflection with the understanding that any opponent you would run into is no doubt going to be taller, stronger, and faster than us. Mind you this style is rather limiting in a way with a limited set of strikes, block and kicks. You will need to build your own style up from this. Next we will do some shuriken and kunai training to ensure you have good accuracy. No one wants to look bad on their first unable to throw a kunai properly."

"When we will learn some jutsu?" Naruto asked him as Shusui patted his head.

"Well, we will get to it time, if you manage to get through the training today. I will teach you a technique that ancestor Kagami Uchiha learned from the Second Hokage." Shisui told him.

"Alright, what do I need to do?"

"Well, it's quite simple so follow me, first you will make a ram seal, just like I am doing." Shisui instructed as Naruto followed him. Then close your eyes and focus to the core of yourself like water in a cup. Stand in the most comfortable position for you as you do this. Listen to my words carefully. Feel your chakra as they are the very blood in your veins, from the top of your head, to your right hand shoulder, right hand."

Naruto's chakra sudden flared up as he saw a blue aura surrounding his body as he looked back in shock. He quickly activated his Sharingan and stared at Naruto's body.

" _I be damned, I didn't think he would have that much chakra to begin with, let alone become visible like that. Naruto has more chakra that a genin with ease. I have no doubt that the Kyuubi's chakra is still separate from Naruto's charka reserves. I can also see the seal is still intact after so many years. This is no doubt to his natural heritage from his Uzumaki descendants. On top of this his yang has overbalanced his Yin. He might not be able to perform the Henge Jutsu or Bunshin Jutsu due to it's Yin affinity."_ Shisui thought as he deactivated his Sharingan as he noticed Naruto jumping up in joy.

"Alright, I can feel my chakra and it feels super warm!" Naruto cheered as Shisui nodded.

"It's best to keep that feeling in mind when you try to manifest your chakra for jutsu, but keep in mind you will need to understand emptying out your chakra completely has devastating effects." Shisui pointed out.

"Like what?" Naruto wondered.

"For example, if you do not have chakra when trying to perform a technique not only will it not work, you can also die." the Uchiha sternly stated stopping Naruto's happy streak.

Naruto gulped. "Death…" he muttered as the older boy nodded.

"Most children becoming a ninja will feel the same you do right now when they learn about this. That is why the Academy goes to great lengths in teaching everyone their limits. For example, you don't teach an academy level student a high level technique with a small chakra reserve. Over time, your chakra grows and you will be able to perform techniques you couldn't do before. Right now you have a high-Genin chakra source due to your unique heritage as an Uzumaki. However, the downside is the fact having such a large amount of chakra can overload the basic techniques they teach."

Naruto listened to Shisui's words. "So how do you gain more chakra?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui held up his finger. "One way to build up your chakra reserves is by expending your chakra coils. But understanding how Chakra is made is important, overall it's a mixture of physical and mental energy combine to make chakra. The reason why a majority of kids' stay a bit longer in the academy to ensure that their chakra reserves can grow. Training hard and performing exercises like we did early helps build physical energy. Mental energy is gained when you study, meditate, or gain experience in new things." Shisui carefully explained.

"So running here was the physical, energy and the lecture now is mental." Naruto surmised as Shisui nodded. "So how do you meditate?"

"Well, I will teach you two different ways of meditating, but one requires you to sit still and the other is physical meditation. But let's focus on exercise that will help concentration as well chakra control. This will be the most important thing you will need to learn Naruto. So don't scoff at it for looking ridiculous or stupid." the Uchiha sternly stated as he took off his headband and quickly placed it in his pocket. He reached down on the ground and threw a leaf onto Naruto's forehead as he gathered one for himself. He placed the leaf on his head.

"So what does leaf have to do with training?" Naruto curiously asked.

"For generations Konoha ninjas have used this exercise in order to better one's mental focus. But it doubles as chakra control training. This exercise is called leaf concentration practice and this is how we got the leaf symbol on our headbands. By focusing chakra directly to my head, I can make this leaf levitate, watch carefully." Shisui ordered as Naruto focused on his forehead. He focused a ram seal again as he concentrated as the leaf floated off his head like it was levitating as Naruto smiled happily.

"It's floating!" he happily announced as Shisui smiled.

"True, but the point of this exercise is to help focus chakra into certain areas of the body. For instance, my Sharingan will activate if I place my chakra into my eyes." Shisui told Naruto. Shisui's eyes turned crimson with three tomoes'.

"So cool is there anything else I should know?" Naruto shouted happily.

Shisui nodded deactivating his Sharingan as he began to swirl the leaf on his head again. "Ah, there is one more thing you will need to know before this exercise is over. You will need to spin the leaf properly in the direction of your hair roots either clockwise or counterclockwise." Shisui explained

"My hair…"

Shisui nodded as he quickly placed his headband on his forehead. He walked up to Naruto and patted and rubbed it. "You have a clockwise formation that spins to the right, so focus the leaf to the right." he noted as he pulled his hand off his head.

Naruto focused his ram seal as he focused chakra into it. The leaf on his forehead burst into pieces as he looked up in shock. "The leaf, it burst into pieces!" Naruto frantically shouted.

Shish nodded, placing another leaf on his forehead. "It's due to the amount of chakra you are using is overloading the leaf. The leaf itself is very delicate and if you use too much chakra it explodes. However if you use only a little bit of chakra, it will fall off your head. The trick is to get in the middle between the extreme and least amount of chakra used. Now this is the time to actually focus," Shisui advised.

"Why am I not spinning of leaf?" Naruto asked him.

"Simple you are instinctively fighting your own chakra by spinning it counter clockwise." Shisui explained.

Naruto nodded as he began to focus again.

" _Too much will break the leaf and too little makes the leaf fall. Find the balance…"_ Naruto thought as Shisui activated his Sharingan this time.

Naruto began focusing his chakra this time as he bopped him. "Too much."

Naruto nodded as he focused a little less this time as Shisui kept hitting him on the head. As a good thirty minutes passed as several attempts were made. Shisui's eyes were shocked to see the leaf float on his head. He nodded in approval now.

"Did I do it?" Naruto muttered as he focused hard.

"Yes, but don't relax just now, try to focus your chakra through the less path of resistance and start spinning like a clock. Think like a clock's hand turning right…" He lectured as he saw Naruto spinning the leaf now.

Shisui sat down on the ground. "Keep focusing for five minutes straight and remember this feeling. It's very important for you to do this."

Naruto nodded as Shisui timed the event with a small stopwatch in his hand. He waited for the five minutes to be up as he saw Naruto's focus was letting up one bit.

" _Compared to Sasuke, Naruto has a lot of untapped potential even without the Kyuubi's help he can be a great ninja one day. He just needs to focus a bit more on what he is doing."_ Shisui thought as he soon heard his stopwatch beep as he turned it off.

"Alright, I completed the exercise!" Naruto shouted happily.

Shisui nodded. "True, but you should try to do this everyday for at least 5 to 10 minutes. As well try to focus the leave onto your fingertips."

"My fingertips as well." Naruto muttered as Shisui patted his head.

"Correct, when forming hand seals you are trying to use an exact amount of chakra to perform jutsu. By focusing a leaf on every finger-tip as well thumbs you can improve your jutsu use. Now let's move onto hand seals there are twelve in all. So follow after me." Shisui explained as he put his hands together. He slowly showed Naruto the twelve hand signs. He began calling out a set of seals for Naruto to perform. He went over it dozens of times with him.

"So, memorizing hands seals are important?" Naruto surmised.

The Uchiha nodded. "Yes, and for my clan and everyone else, this is a must have. Hand seals are very important to a shinobi and how fast you can weave your hands will make a difference. For Academy students you will be graded as 1 on the chart out of five. You will be graded on how fast you can perform the hand seals." Shisui explained.

"So what happens if one is too long?" Naruto asked him. "Is there a way to shorten it?"

"Of course, for example, you know a jutsu and you performed dozens of times without fail. You instinctively know for a fact how to mold it you can shorten down the seals depending on the jutsu. For example the Nidaime Hokage shorten down a jutsu with 44 hand seals to at least one. You need to have great chakra control to do such a thing. So don't try it just yet until you ask a sensei in the Academy." Shisui explained as he helped up his finger. "Since you did a good job learning that so quickly, how about that jutsu I promised."

Naruto jumped with joy. "Is it going to be cool like a fire bomb or something?" Naruto cheered as Shisui smirked and nodded his head.

"No, your first jutsu with be a water one named Mizurappa (Wild Water Wave)." Shisui corrected.

"Why not something cool a like fire just or an explosion?" Naruto pleaded.

"It's very dangerous teaching a child a fire style technique. I would know seeing our clan likes teaching younger kids of our clan the Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Great Fireball). You could easily cause a forest fire that could do damage to the village. Besides that water is great for you in a way. Overall fire is a terrible element to use due to the fact well every can see it a mile-away as well it burns the evidence and people away. It also blocks your vision and someone using a Kawarimi jutsu so they can easily avoid it. Don't tell anyone from my clan I said it, but that is my take on it. Here catch!" Shish told him as he tossed Naruto a scroll.

Naruto looked at the scroll in hands as he unraveled it. "C-rank offensive jutsu?" Naruto muttered. He read out the seals. "Dragon, tiger, and hare…"

Shisui nodded the trick behind this by kneading your chakra to your stomach and expel like you spitting out water, but in a stream. Overall, it's a short to mid-range move that gushes out water like a waterfall, but the power of it can be controlled. So be careful about using such a jutsu on a person it can cause internal injury Naruto." He warned.

Naruto stepped away from Shisui as he pointed towards the water. "Dragon, tiger, hare… Suiton: Mizurappa!"

Naruto breathed, he quickly kneaded his chakra to his stomach. He breathed out a shot a water fountain of water out as he continues it went over 27 yards. Shisui inspected the attack with his Sharingan.

"You have some way to go with that technique. Overall you executed a good distance, but the force behind it was like a water gun. Not harmful at all, but good for putting out fires. We will try this again tomorrow, but we don't want to overdo it. Let's focus on shuriken and kunai training now." Shisui explained.

Naruto jumped up in excitement as he followed Shisui as someone stood high on a cliff overwatching the event along with Itachi. "Hokage sir, what brings you here?" Itachi asked him.

"I just came to come check up on you and see how you doing with Naruto. To my surprise, I see you and Shisui are helping him out with ninja training. Why take a sudden interest in helping him out? Sarutobi asked the young boy.

"Danzo has already made a move to sabotage Naruto's first two years in the Academy already. The teachers themselves refuse to teach him anything worthwhile and kicked Naruto out of the course for failing too many times. Many of the teachers' in question just don't want anything to do with Naruto in the first place." Itachi reported as Sarutobi frowned.

"So he is already making his move against Naruto using subtle tactics of the people's hate against him. He was hoping if Naruto failed so many times he would be kicked out of the program entirely and then try to recruit him personally. Thank you for bringing it to my attention Itachi." Sarutobi told him.

"Don't mention it, sir, it was the least I can do to give him a bit of happiness in his life. Besides, that I think Shisui loves the fact he is playing teacher. After a whole a month it will be all up to Naruto to train himself afterwards. If someone's question's why Shisui is out here with him we can always say we did on the Police's behave to keep him from doing anything bad." Itachi reasoned. "Lord Hokage, I need to ask a favor of you, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead…" Sarutobi cleared his throat.

"Can you at least clear me to give me one of Kushina's jutsu's scroll to Naruto." Itachi explained as Sarutobi looked at him.

"Itachi, you do realize Kushina has enemies, do you not?" Sarutobi asked him.

Itachi nodded. "True, but if Naruto doesn't know a thing about one of his parents. He may become distorted in a way and be swayed by something pretending they like him. I also have a feeling that deep down inside he carries a certain darkness. He might question why he was born or he shouldn't have been born in the first place." Itachi explained.

Sarutobi sighed and nodded. "True, I do need to explain some things to him, but I will need to wait until he turns genin first. Then I will tell him about his mother as well the Kyuubi. Hopefully the things you taught him will shift him into a more positive light." Sarutobi hoped. "I will see if there is something in her possessions that is not too dangerous.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 is a experiment chapter in a way since it deals with Shisui and Itachi overall. Itachi being in Anbu would understand Naruto's problem since he sat back and watched overall. He understands Jinchuriki have always had a hard time due to the fact people died during the sealing. Some become unstable and distrustful of people as well endanger the lives of others.**

 **Shisui on the other hand is different in a way a genius in his own way, but never praised at all compared to Itachi. He believes wholeheartedly in the Will of Fire and understands Naruto's problem of being an orphan seeing he has no direct family himself other than the clan.**

 **Where he actually tries to do better for himself as well other's proving he isn't a demon to them. He grows up a bit more like Minato in a way instead of Kushina. I don't plan on letting the Team 7 formula arise like in canon. It's recipe for disaster and I will be adding a bit more depth to the story.**

 **I hope you all review and tell me about the story so I can a general idea how you feel about the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does, but we all wish the series stuck true towards the beginning of the series.

 **Ch.2 A returning act of kindness**

* * *

The sun was shining overhead as birds chirped as blur moved past the streets avoiding the people with ease. Shisui landed on a familiar balcony as looked up to see a budding roof garden at top. Naruto took on Itachi's advice to make one was nice seeing it helped saved him some money now. He made sure to check up Naruto time to time and make sure he wasn't killing himself by writing his seals. As well making sure he doesn't end up eating some bad food by sheer accident.

Despite the two years being sabotaged in the Academy Naruto learned really quickly on the basics. His books smarts were lacking, but it was quickly rectified with a little trip to the library. Naruto quickly picked up on how to garden as well cook making it favorite hobbies. He was loving on how to use Fuinjutsu on the side as he finally managed to make some good storage scrolls and paper bombs. He quickly encouraged him to sell his creations out to other Shinobi after thoroughly testing it.

He managed to convince a weapons shop in town to buy them from Naruto. The man agreed seeing he was low on tags or the fact his supplier sold it to high to him. Explosive tags in general were costly to make let alone buy. The prices at times for explosive tags were 350 ryo a pop for just one tag along. Storage scrolls on the matter sold for varying prices depending how big you wanted and what array. It good up into the thousands with only the basic scroll costing 500 ryo to buy.

Shisui quickly knocked on his door to see if Naruto was home. He heard no answer as he began to smell the hints of fire around back the building. He quickly made his around to see Naruto was messing around with training gear, seals, and personal supplies. He had a huge scroll set across the ground as it had a primitive seal array on the side. As Naruto had various materials, kits, and burners there.

He was no doubt working on his secret project he encouraged him do after his one month training with him.

"I see you are taking my little project serious. So how goes the your little flame alchemy test?" Shisui told him.

Naruto looked at his handy work as he looked at a pair of white gloves. "Not much, I didn't think it would be such hard thing until I started the project. I had no talent for fire jutsu so I thought I could bridged it using seals and a medium like you said. Then I was forced to look up how to make flame resistant cloth that can make a spark. I had Ayame nee-chan help me make the gloves, but the seals are too complicated." Naruto complained as Shisui smiled.

He rubbed his head softly. "Don't worry you are still a beginner using seals and thinking of using gloves as a medium is brilliant. The downside of this idea is the fact it might not do well in wet weather. Plus you would need to have a great understanding on combustion itself. So try to work on this project during your off time please. As soon as you become a genin go the library section to see if they have more on it. Making the basic storage scroll and explosive tag is good for now." Shisui advised as Naruto nodded.

He began packing up his things. "So what brings you over here today Shisui-sensei?" Naruto happily asked him.

"I came to see if you aren't dead by messing around with experimental seals, Naruto. On top of it you have a least a week until the Academy starts it's new semester. So you would no doubt will need new clothes and enroll into the Academy formerly again. Besides that I want to see if you mastered the jutsu I taught you." Shisui explained as Naruto.

Naruto jumped up in joy. "Of course I did, I managed to get it down pat!" Naruto shouted with joy. He quickly went through the three seals. He quickly shot a gushing waterfall of water out of his mouth as hit the stone wall with full force. Shisui watched on with his Sharingan to see the flow of the technique. He saw how the wall impacted to see it was partially clean. "The technique is also great for water my plants as well."

Shisui chuckled and nodded. "True, but you do realize watering plants with jutsu changes how they developed. They tend to grow stronger and denser than most plants. By the way did you make any storage scrolls and explosive notes to sell today? Because you might need the extra cash before we go shopping." Shisui explained.

"Shopping?" Naruto asked him.

"Of course, you have grown quite a bit since you started eating healthy. Clothes start to not fit and the last thing you want right now is to look goofy in front a classroom filled with other kids. Also we got to make sure to work on reading and writing, and on your speech and manners just to make sure you are not of place." Shisui reminded him.

"True…" Naruto muttered.

"By the way since we are here how about a short lesson on how to suppress chakra from me?" Shisui explained.

"Why would I want to suppress my chakra?" Naruto asked him.

"Well if you are planning on using seals or traps concealing your chakra is a must have. All across the Elemental Nations they have sensors that can detect people for miles off or pin-point your position. Sensor's were developed on the battlefield to help ensure people wouldn't run blindly into an enemy ambush. The reason behind this was due to the fact the Uzumaki were so good at using Fuinjutsu to trap his groups of ninjas and then using explosive notes to finish them off."

"Wow, they had to dedicate a line of shinobi for such a thing." Naruto muttered as Shisui nodded.

"Quite true, but there are different types of sensor's out their in the elemental nations. For example the Inuzuka's can smell a person miles away. The Byakugan itself can see people off for miles, and there are people out there that can sense chakra. The Yamanaka clan is mostly made up of sensory techniques. But there is another reason why it's important to suppress or stop your chakra all together.

"Um is it genjutsu." Naruto guessed.

Shisui nodded. "Yes, out of the three main categories the academy teaches they can't do a good job teaching it to anyone. Can you tell me the reason behind it?" Shisui asked Naruto.

"Chakra control, it's the most intensive one that needs control compared to Ninjutsu and sealing." Naruto answered him.

"That is right, I use Genjutsu myself along with my sharingan, but overall to be quick with it. Genjutsu works by affecting brain's cerebral nervous system that affects their five senses. Genjutsu overall can manipulate people and force them to do actions they normally go for. Torture and Interrogation usually go for more genjutsu types to help gather information. Most genjutsu is eye-based so looking at targets, but there are other forms." Shisui lectured.

"So how do I break a genjutsu?" Naruto curiously asked him.

"First all you should ask am I in a genjutsu or not? Identifying one will be hard if you aren't observing your surroundings. Some can be subtle and other's not so. Above all else when fighting an enemy kunoichi you should expect them to employ genjutsu above all else." Shisui warned him.

"Why is that? Are girls naturally good at using genjutsu?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui nodded. "For guys like ourselves we tend to run into a problem of controlling our chakra. Girls on the other hand are more in tune with themselves and their chakra. A majority of girls would start having low chakra capacities and using ninjutsu would not help them, because of that girls are more aware of the surroundings then men all together as well themselves." Shisui explained.

"I see, so I am not a genjutsu type." Naruto surmised.

"True, you might not have the aptitude for it all together you tend to have more yang chakra then yin. Or formally named light and dark releases, Yin tends to focus on the spiritual side of things along with imagination. Yang on the other hand is physical energy that governs vitality. Since you are Uzumaki Fuinjutsu itself is perfect for you. It tends to take a lot of chakra to employ the techniques itself and you experimenting around with seals shows why. For example the Academy's bunshin jutsu (clone jutsu) is a Yin aspect and no doubt you will struggle with it. So be carefully picking up a jutsu scroll saying Yin release on it or you will be sorry.

"So that is why you taught me a Suiton: Mizurappa and Weasel gave a scroll on Futon: Reppushou (Wind Release Gale Palm)." Naruto reasoned as Shisui nodded. "So how can I can suppress my chakra then?"

"It's quite simple, you need to perform the leaf exercise in reverse."Shisui explained as he placed a leaf on Naruto's head. "To start the exercise you would need to start spinning the leaf like you would normally do. Afterwards you will need to reverse the flow by spinning your chakra counter clockwise. Try to envision sucking your stomach when you eat too much to pull in your chakra. Then I will time you for fifteen minutes to see if you can do this?" Shisui explained.

Naruto began focusing with all his might as he closed his eyes. As Shisui watched with his Sharingan as he watched Naruto pull in his chakra to the middle of his gut. He noticed that the chakra itself was actually staying there unlike his first attempt using his chakra. He bled off chakra like a water hose, but he was now better with it. It was more like a water faucet now. He timed the minutes as he watched Naruto move around.

"It feels so weird… like I almost empty, but full." He quoted.

"That is the feeling most people describe when they first suppress their chakra." Shisui explained as he heard the stopwatch stop. "Let go off your chakra and then you can learn how to break genjutsu next."

Naruto happily nodded. "So how do you break a genjutsu if you ever caught in one?" Naruto asked him as Shisui laughed.

"There are a few way of doing it, but one such method is shutting off you chakra completely and then flood your body again. That way you will eliminate the foreign chakra that has invaded your body. Genjutsu tends to feeds off the victim's chakra to help sustain itself. Another method altogether is pain, if it's not caused by the genjutsu itself you can free yourself from it. I will hit you once with my Sharingan to cast a simple illusion on you. Nothing too major that you would be screaming your head off." Shisui warned him.

His eyes flashed crimson catching Naruto off guard as Naruto began to see multiple images.

"What the heck…?" Naruto muttered.

"Someone wrong kiddo can't focus?" Shisui asked him as he heard echoes of his voice. Multiple Shisui's clouded his vision. Naruto began to focus his chakra back into his body as he rushed it out. He saw the images stop as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Take note Naruto, genjutsu is nothing to be trifled with. Attempting to break a genjutsu is good and all, but it leave your vulnerable to attack. My trick is quite simple to use since I use Shunshin no Jutsu (body flicker) to quickly dispatch enemies or hit them with genjutsu to disable to never take on a Sharingan one on one if you do get into a fight with Sasuke one day."

Naruto turned around a bit confused. "Sasuke… who is that?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui clicked his fingers. "My friend named Itachi's kid brother. You might be in his class this year, but he has managed to master Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Great Fireball)." Shisui explained.

"Itachi is he named Weasel…" Naruto pointed out as Shisui patted his head.

"Don't think too much on it. Besides that our little learning session is over, but do you have any questions?" Shisui asked him.

"How can I avoid a genjutsu all together?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui thought about it for a moment. "True, I never asked that question because I have the Sharingan. How do you avoid such a thing without getting caught in such a thing?" Shisui muttered in deep thinking.

"Quite simple, you have to be adept in being a sensory-type ninja. You can pick up the smallest traces of chakra around you and you can sense genjutsu traps. As well detect if a person's trying to perform a jutsu before hand. Then try your best to stay out of their eyesight range." A person answered them.

Naruto and Shisui turned to see the Hokage walking up to him. "Jiji, you're here. What brings you here?" Naruto asked him.

"Well I came to check on you, but I see you were quite busy meeting with Shisui again. Academy enrollment is coming up and I ensured that an instructor that will teach everyone equally. I was planning on getting you enrolled today and make sure you picked up your supplies for school as well. Despite the fact the you already have real shuriken and kunai the academy poses a standard of having blunt ones." Sarutobi reminded him as Naruto pouted.

"I don't see why they do such a thing if we are trying to learn how to be a ninja?" Naruto muttered in disdain.

"Well it's for safety reasons for civilian children starting out this year. Most tend to join at eight, but children from clans tend to join earlier. Despite your two years there you didn't learn much do to some instructors lack luster teaching." Sarutobi. "So how goes your project on using seals to create fire, Naruto-kun."

"Not well… I did as you advise, but it's really hard to create it. Well the seal part to it that is, I can only make the gloves." Naruto admitted as Sarutobi chuckled.

"True, that is why Fuinjutsu is frowned upon it's time consuming, chakra intensive, and dangerous if you do it wrong. Though you have learned quite a deal of patience when writing that type of jutsu. It's good to see you have are a focusing a bit more, but I may talk Shisui for a moment." Sarutobi asked Naruto.

Naruto nodded happily as he quickly picked up his stuff as he made his way back inside.

"So Shusui how is my old friend?" Sarutobi asked him as Shisui frowned.

"He is paranoid by the fact I am spending time with Naruto as he believes I might bring about doom. He is power hungry and he is looking for anyway to usurp you and become Hokage. Itachi did a good job spotting out the fact he was trying to convert Naruto over to his side. He intended to use him as a weapon for his cause. Though despite his fanatical beliefs he still wants to make the village strong in his own way." Shusui explained. "I just don't see why you don't disband or break up Root."

Sarutobi sighed. "True, but Root has it's uses… they take on the less savory missions. There are even missions you dare not go on due to its lethality. I was hoping to keep Root in check as they serve the village since we have lost a lot of manpower." Sarutobi explained.

Shisui nodded. "I know Anbu for a fact didn't have teenagers being Anbu Captain. The third great shinobi war, Kyuubi attack, and now this upcoming problem. There are so many enemies within and outside the village. Are the other ones like this?" Shisui asked the Hokage.

Sarutobi sighed. "I know for a fact Suna tried assassination Pakura. Around that time they didn't notice we had Anbu in the area and many believe she is dead. Iwa has it's own problems as well with a missing named Deidara. Kirigakure with it's bloodline purge, rebels and bad academy politics. Kumogakure refusal to dematerialize in times of peace has put people on edge. As they try their hardest in kidnapping and obtaining blood lines." Sarutobi muttered.

"I know the attempted kidnapping of Hinata Hyuuga and the subsequent death Hizashi left a bad taste in my mouth." Shisui agreed.

"That is why I am making sure this time the kids will graduate at a steadier pace around 12 to 13 years old before graduating the Academy. I have seen too many young people die for nothing." Hiruzen calmly explained. "By the way what were you planning to do with Naruto-kun today?"

"Well it's going be a secret for now until he graduates from the Academy, but I need to be sure he will pick up the proper stuff for school." Shisui explained.

"You are already thinking of a graduation gift for Naruto. What about Sasuke, Itachi's brother?" Hiruzen incredibly asked.

"Sasuke owns a lot of things in general unlike Naruto. He is practically treated as a prince in the academy despite his brother overshadowing him. Though Naruto and me are in a similar situation, my clan in a way. Being the descendant of Kagami Uchiha I appreciate the village overall then my clan. I can sense deep hate within the clan, many selflessly want to sacrifice nothing. Many of them don't realize how blessed we are to have a village. The current death rate for the Uchiha clan in the Warring States Period is proof enough." Shisui sorrowfully admitted as the Hokage frowned.

"Shusui, I know all too well seeing I have seen all three great ninja wars. Hopefully we could come to agreement of peace before it's too late. They don't realize the long term problems that will happen even if they do win. Every country will come pouncing up Konoha for land grabs or kidnap clan members. Another great war could take place in a moment's instance." Hiruzen explained.

"I hope so too, but I might have to use that technique if it all fails." Shisui muttered as he walked towards Naruto apartment. "We might as well get moving before Naruto comes to check up on us. I don't want him catching wind of this. He has a hard time lying to anyone even if it could save his life."

Sarutobi chuckled as he followed suit to Naruto's apartment. Shisui helped Naruto shop using a genjutsu for his clothes. He had to branch off from them to continue his duties in the village. As the Hokage lead Naruto to the Academy to enroll as he saw several other children at the administration office. As several families were enrolling their children. He had people glaring at him and avoiding him like the plague.

Many of the parents telling their children to stay away from him because he was bad news. He ignored and signed away on his forms. As a Chunin picked it for him without word as he made his way quickly out the office. He quickly made sure that his scrolls were secured in his pouch. He had a scroll for his new clothes and his books stored inside waist bag.

"I might as well do some extra training in preparation for the Academy." Naruto muttered. "I just hope this year's in the Academy will be different.

.X.

Naruto sighed as he sat quietly in the back of the Academy classroom, after a whole week of just selling explosive tags off as well buying the special strips of paper he needed for the next batch. He made sure he had gained enough money before the start of Academy for precautionary measures. The last thing he needed was the fact someone ruined or stolen his things and he had no way to pay for it.

Today he had to walk through a whole crowd that would stare at him, though they didn't whisper this time. As the Hokage gave a wonderful speech about for the new year. He was assigned to a class with man named Iruka Umino his home room teacher. A lot of famous clan children were attending class with him. Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, Inuzuka, and the list went on as he still received quite a few stares and whispers still.

As most avoided him like a plague, except for a few children in the class. He sat next to Choji Akimichi who was muching on something as Iruka was getting his papers together. He sat beside an orphan kid named Toshiro that had white hair. It was something he could tolerate and enjoy for once.

They had gone through the day assigning textbooks, making sure they had the appropriate supplies, listing rules, and expectations. As well making name badges to ensure we know each other's names. It was a normal, but easy day considering the fact it was a bit boring. Some kids like Sakura, Shino, Sasuke, and Hinata listened with interests as others zoned out. Well despite Choji eating and Shikamaru sleeping on his desk. As he noticed Kiba was acting up again.

He noticed the bell ringing as he sighed.

"Alright kids,!" Iruka-sensei half-yelled over the explosion of noise. "You have one hour, I want you all back here in an hour. Except for you Naruto Uzumaki, I want to stay here for a while." Iruka pointed out as Naruto sighed.

Everyone cheered running out the class as he put away his notes into his pouch. He made his way down towards Iruka's desk as he eyed Naruto.

"Do you need anything Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked him.

Iruka nodded looking at the notes. "Yes, for the past two years your scores are abysmal at best and you were kicked out at least 2 times. It was no doubt due to the pranking or something else entirely. Your last teacher Daikoku Funeno said you could even the most basic ninjutsu. As well your test scores were terrible in nature." Iruka told him as Naruto frowned a bit.

"True, but they were terrible teachers they always treated me differently for no reason. I hardly learned anything in their class until someone actually helped me." Naruto stated.

As Iruka's eyebrows widened up. "Someone helped you improve your skill. Who is it, by the way?" Iruka asked as Naruto smiled.

"Shisui-san taught me whole bunch of things after I got kicked out from the Academy." Naruto happily told him.

"Shisui Uchiha, Shunsin no Shisui, why would he help teach you?" Iruka asked him.

"Because he is awesome and he doesn't have any parents like me." Naruto explained as Iruka softened up a bit.

"So do you have the transformation jutsu down along with the bunshin?" Iruka asked as Naruto nodded. He slammed his hands together forming a ram seal.

"Henge no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he looked like Shisui as he smirked with his Sharingan eyes staring at Iruka. He made it the Sharingan eyes spin a little intimidating the teacher. "He was said I was very good at using the transformation jutsu. Though making the eye spin slightly was really hard."

Naruto dropped the technique before as Iruka nodded. "That is very good I didn't expect you to spin the tomoe's in the eye. What about Bunshin no jutsu?"

Naruto nodded as he went through the ram, snake, and tiger seals for it as he focused more. "Bunshin no jutsu!" as cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. It revealed ten Naruto's behind him as he smirked. "I hate jutsu this jutsu the most due to the fact they don't do anything, but distract. They don't even cast a shadow or interact with things."

Iruka began writing down his notes on paper.

" _Such a shift from abysmal to doing pretty good. I thought I was dealing with a troublemaker."_ Iruka thought.

"So what we're reading during my lecture then?" Iruka asked him.

Naruto took out his notebook containing sealing. "I am learning how to use Fuinjutsu, but so far I can only make storage scrolls and explosive notes." Naruto pointed.

"You can make explosive notes! Don't you know how dangerous they are?" Iruka reprimanded him.

"Jiji never said anything about along with Shisui." Naruto pointed out. "Besides I can sell the explosive notes I make to the weapon shop. I gained 350 ryo per tag, while the shop owner sells it for double I think." Naruto explained as Iruka looked at the book. He saw Naruto's notes to see some was mostly theory still. Some of it was way over his head as he gave it back to Naruto.

"Well that is quite ambitious learning Fuinjutsu on the side. We don't have teachers in the Academy skilled in teaching Fuinjutsu ever since the Nidaime's age." Iruka pointed out.

Naruto nodded. "True, jiji told me I should take it slow with me learning Fuinjutsu." Naruto pouted as Iruka nodded.

"Since we are the subject of that, can you show me the the Kawarimi no jutsu then." Iruka asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Of course…" Naruto agreed as smoke covered his body. He was replaced by a chair as Iruka looked up to see he was standing at the top of the stairs smiling. "Can I go to lunch now, Iruka-sensei?"

" _He can do sealess Kawarimi no jutsu as well. It seems he finally got his act together."_ Iruka thought.

"Of course you can go Naruto, and you can be ten minutes late due to me holding you up. On top of it you don't have to show me the bunshin no jutsu today. When you come back we will be doing some taijutsu practice." Iruka informed as Naruto nodded running out.

"Okay!" Naruto shouted.

Iruka sighed. "Well the Hokage said he was full of surprises, but I didn't expect that."

.X.

Naruto sighed as he the day was letting out now as he managed to get through kata practicing. Though the Sasuke just kept showing off in front of everybody as the girls crushed on him. It felt annoying in a way to see everyone was treating like a prince for everything. The only sign of recognition he got was from Iruka so it wasn't that bad.

He managed to make friends Choji and Shikamaru. He showed off his food he made to Choji who sampled it. He promised to bring a pillow next time for Shikamaru to rest his head off. They were the only two that treated okay that day.

Iruka waved by to the children as Naruto gave his farewell to the teacher. "I see you had a great day, eh Naruto." a familiar voice called out as he smiled.

"Shisui-san!" Naruto jumped up and cheered as Iruka noticed him. "Did you come to visit me?"

Shisui nodded. "Of course I did kiddo and I wanted to see if you weren't doing anything bad at school this time on your first day back." Shisui told him as Naruto blushed.

"I wasn't bad at all you can ask Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted as Shisui nodded.

"So how was he today, Iruka-sensei?" Shisui asked him.

"He did excellent today and I hope he keeps his focus up for the rest of the year and until graduation." Iruka hoped as Shisui patted his head.

"Well that settles it, can you head onto Ichiraku ramen, while I talk to your sensei for a moment. I will be there before you know it kiddo, I would just like to have a little word with him." Shisui told him as Naruto nodded running off.

"Ramen!" Naruto shouted happily as he ran off. He walked towards Iruka with a smile.

"He is such energetic kid you know it's quite hard holding attention, let alone making him sit in place until he start messing with Fuinjutsu. But I can tell you easily you unnerved Iruka-sensei." Shisui pointed out walking towards him.

"You already noticed that?" Iruka muttered.

"Of course and it's not the rookie teacher vibe and it's about what happened almost eight years ago." Shisui pointed out.

"I see…" Iruka muttered as sat down on a bench as Shisui sat down next to him.

"I know, it seems we are all in the same boat as you, Naruto, and I. I know it's hard looking past such a thing, but this is a neglected boy full of potential. With such a dangerous life-style I hold I might not be there all the time for him one day." Shisui pointed out.

"How can you deal with him being?" Iruka asked as Shisui interrupted him.

"Stop right there sensei, do you understand how Fuinjutsu works?" He asked him as Iruka nodded.

"Of course I do." he answered him.

"Then think of him as victim as well a life he was dealt and he has to change someway. His parents also died during the Kyuubi attack and he doesn't a lick about them. Until I found he was wreck with so much potential. I decided to help motivate him to do better, but since you are his teacher you should know better to look at him which such dull eyes." Shisui lectured.

Iruka looked up in shock at him. "Dull eyes…" Iruka muttered.

"You give the same off the same eyes the other villagers do to him. Even if he is smiling towards you his smile isn't reaching you. As long as you hold the fact he is the demon to you, he won't respect you I promise that." The Uchiha advised.

"So you just want me to treat him like everyone else?" Iruka asked him as Shisui nodded.

"Of course silly. It may be hard, but I asked Naruto to give his all to help respect you. Otherwise he may prank without you knowing one day. Since he learning Fuinjutsu I would be on the lookout even more." Shisui joked.

"That isn't funny!" Iruka shouted as Shisui smirked.

"True well maybe, but keep in mind Iruka. Monster's in their own right have no feelings for themselves, people, and things around them." Shisui reminded him.

"Monster's don't have any feelings?" Iruka muttered as Shisui nodded.

"Quite true, but I need to take my leave now before Naruto makes it to the ramen bar before me. He will never let it go if he made there before me." Shisui joked as waved bye to Iruka as he disappeared like a flash.

Iruka sighed. "Shisui, he knows… but he still accepted him. I got to try harder for Naruto's sake as well mine." Iruka muttered.

.X.

Naruto laughed happily as he finished eating ramen with Shisui as he decided to head home. Since his class wasn't assigned homework, well if you can't practicing his kata. The konoha-ryu was a basic style, but he needed something stronger. Sasuke's taijutsu was stronger than his by milestones due to his Interceptor style. A fighting style that was very defensive in nature and it's full uses would be gained with the Sharingan.

It takes advantage of keeping the opponent in their field of vision, but the downside was the fact it made them slow. They also can't deliver powerful punches like Choji does in class, despite his kind nature. The Academy doesn't teach in depth Taijutsu courses due to the sheer amount of children.

"This is terrible I can't find a good fighting styles to suit me…" Naruto muttered. He made his way back to academy to see it was deathly quiet as he heard the sounds of crying. He saw a girl sitting in front a swing in front of the Academy.

She had long brown hair and light brown eyes. Her hair is straight on one side, but on the other side it is in a braid. She wore a dark purple kimono-like shirt that had long right sleeves and short left sleeves. That were held close by a wide pink sash with red mesh armour underneath it all with a light-blue skirt and a brown headband.

"Hey are you crying?" Naruto asked her as she tried wiping her tears. He looked into his pouch to check for something to wipe her eyes. He pulled a short clean white towel from his pouch as he handed it to her. "Here you go."

She looked at him for a moment and took it graciously. "T-thank you." she thanked him as Naruto sat down on the ground besides her.

"Hey are you academy student just like me?" Naruto asked her.

She nodded her head. "No, I am not, I had a personal tutor, but she gave up on me. She doesn't want me to become a ninja." She muttered.

"You had a personal tutor? Shisui-san helped teach me a lot of things, but he isn't a full time teacher due to his duties. Why would she give up on you? I was hopeless case myself until Shisui came along." Naruto pointed out.

She looked at Naruto with some disbelieve. "Really?" She incredibly asked.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Of course, I was horrible in the Academy I had no skills of knowledge to speak up. My chakra was out of control and I couldn't even perform the basic bunshin jutsu properly. I was kicked out class two times and I will do my best to not screw up this time." Naruto explained.

"You're that kid everyone hates?" she told him.

"Well they don't know about me so don't believe what they say. Besides that why are you trying to become a ninja?" Naruto asked her.

"Well my name is Yakumo Kurama, my clan used to produce Jonin level ninja, but we fell into decline over the years. I was born with a weak body, but I can do genjutsu. I heard there was a kid in the Academy who was couldn't ninjutsu or ninjutsu is still trying to be a ninja still." Yakumo told him.

"Well my name is Naruto Uzumaki, Yakumo-chan and I believe you can do it. Besides that you would just need to build up stamina, right." Naruto told her.

"Is it even possible?" Yakumo asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Of course, you just got to know where your limit is. You need to rest more and eat properly if you want physically train yourself. Since I came here to do some training after eating dinner, why don't we practice together." Naruto asked her.

Yakumo smiled with happiness. "You would really train with me?" Yakumo asked Naruto.

"Of course, but it's best remember to pace yourself. So let's start off by doing some stretching and then a light run. How about a mile run to start things off. Running around the academy courtyard four times is a mile. Then we will practice some katas and then a spar for 15 minutes." Naruto told her.

"That sounds like a lot." Yakumo told him.

Naruto pumped his fist with a smile. "Well Shisui made me run 5 miles off the bat jumping and climbing over Konoha. So it shouldn't be bad at all, just be sure to remember how to breath. Let's go." Naruto guided her through some basic exercises.

He noticed the girl was struggling as he kept pace with her. He encouraged her through the ordeal, he quickly noticed the fact he was blessed with a strong body instead of a frail one.

The small little training session only took an hour to complete as he helped Yakumo go through the exercises. She was covered with sweat all over her body as she huffed.

"This is hard…" Yakumo told him as Naruto nodded.

"Well being a shinobi is a tough job after all, besides that you did pretty good for not stopping. Though you will need to keep it up everyday to help improve yourself, as well on your off days." Naruto explained.

Yakumo nodded. "Is there any other exercise that is doable for me?" Yakumo asked him.

Naruto nodded as he thought for a moment. "Well I read in a book that medic-nins' are responsible for finding a body's secret, right." Naruto pointed out. "They try to find out what chakra types they had, herbs eaten, ninjutsu, special medicine, and Kekkei Genkai."

"Medic nins' do that?" Yakumo curiously asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Of course they do and Shisui-san has told me how a Mist ninja trains. They allow their ninja to swim to help build a toned body when they are younger and can't lift weights. By doing the four swimming strokes you can strengthen your body. Plus you don't need to have fancy equipment as well. Another tip to do is to run as much as you can one day and then go swim the next day to help recover." Naruto advised.

"Do you swim Naruto?" Yakumo asked him as he nodded happily.

"Of course, I even found a cool place in the village to swim without prying eyes. It's right next to a waterfall, but it's not one that pushes you around. An hour full of swimming burns off 500 calories if you work hard. Since swimming is Aerobic exercise it's more efficient breathe control then running. It demands a lot of oxygen and makes your muscles work harder." Naruto explained.

" _All those lectures from Shisui-san are paying off now. I don't have to look like an idiot giving out advice to anyone."_ Naruto thought as he looked around.

"By the way is there someone here is going to pick you up?"

Yakumo nodded. "No my mother and father are Jonins so they are out of the village, right now." She answered. "My tutor isn't taking me home at all."

Naruto at the night's sky creeping in. "Well, why not come over to my place to stay for the night. Then we can do some morning training, before I head to the academy. Then I can take you to the Hokage's tower first morning." Naruto suggested as the girl smiled.

"Sure, but I don't have any clothes with me for a sleepover." Yakumo told him as Naruto waved it off.

"Don't worry you can borrow some of my clothes then, while you clean your clothes in a washer." Naruto offered. "Maybe I can take you on a last minute shopping trip."

"I don't mean to impose?" Yakumo apologized.

Naruto waved it off as he transformed in a generic civilian form. "It's okay, you will be the first person I ever invited over to my place." Naruto happily told her as he held picked her off the ground. He gave her a piggyback ride since she was so tired as he ran off towards the shopping district in town.

.X.

Sarutobi watched the scene from his crystal ball. He looked up to see two jonin's in their uniforms. The man had long black hair and a black moustache. He has light-coloured eyes. The woman had delicate features and long smooth silver hair along with light-coloured eyes. He knew them both all too well the parents of Yakumo, Uroko was the wife and Murakumo was the father.

Murakumo came to him to petition a tutor for Yakumo by assigning Kurenai Yuhi one of their best genjutsu user in the village. Though the results were abysmal due Kurenai's lack of optimism.

"Well it seems like she has met Naruto, eh. I am sorry to see that Kurenai can't train Yakumo due to her physical health as well the matter of her powers." Sarutobi apologized.

Murakumo nodded. "It is okay, Lord Hokage, everyone has their own path to follow." Murakumo told him. "The fact her powers are this strong and unstable means she might not being kunoichi well."

Uroko his wife nodded. "Are you sure it's okay for Naruto to interact with her?" He doesn't understand her powers are dangerous still. The possibility her genjutsu can actually damage the body is very dangerous. Uroko warned him.

Sarutobi sighed as he let a puff from his pipe. "True, it does seem dangerous, but overall your daughter and Kurenai can't relate well to each other. The fact that Naruto was kicked out of the Academy twice is something he can relate to her and it's entirety. Naruto wants to take on the position of Hokage one day and prove he isn't some beast. I am proud the changes Shisui Uchiha has given as well some focus." Sarutobi explained.

"You think he can teach her?" Murakumo asked Sarutobi.

Sarutobi nodded. "If there is something that Naruto can teach others is by not giving as well live in despair. He can help motivate her physically and improve her body conditioning over time. As well give her a calm her down mentally knowing someone understands her problem. So let her have a sleepover at Naruto's apartment for once and let her make her own judgement. It's best she realizes her limits or she is unfit to being a shinobi herself." Sarutobi explained.

"What happens if her genjutsu takes on a mind of it's own self." Uroko advised.

"If something comes to that, I will see if I can get Jiraiya to help me out or as a last ditch effort or ask Kurenai to do it."Sarutobi told him.

"As you wish Lord Hokage, but we will take our leave out for our next mission." Murakumo told him.

"I will be sure to tell our servants to pass on some clothes to Yakumo then if she is planning on staying over at his apartment until we come back." Uroko told him as Sarutobi nodded as he looked at his files.

* * *

 **It looks like you all didn't expect a chapter coming out so soon, but I decided to release now so the story can move on a bit. I decided to expand on ideas that were never used in the series. And expand on it for many reasons as well try to fix some problems the story had overall in the end that put people off.**

 **Well the story is just kicked off I have a few in the waiting wing so I can update it. Who knows I might add an extra chapter in between for fun**

 **Kazama out!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does, but I am writing this story.

 **Ch. 3 Still Water**

 **.X.**

Yakumo hummed happily as the sun was rising up as she was getting ready for the morning. She was wearing her normal training clothes today for training. She placed her pouch and kunai properly into place. She placed her an extra set of clothes in her bag along with a extra garments just incase. She looked inside the bag to see her white one piece swimsuit with pink trims in her bag.

She was feeling a lot better now than she normally did when she went off to train with Kurenai in the past. Naruto's constant encouragement during their physical training was strengthening her weakened body. They met that morning and then in the evening to train against with each other. Especially when Naruto had his off days the two would hang out together doing some fun things.

Though questions were popping around Naruto in question. The very first is the fact that almost everyone in the village avoids him like a plague and for no real reason. He was a really nice boy from the looks of it.

She grabbed her bags and began to make her way down the stairs to the living room. She saw her parents dressed up in uniform again preparing to leave. Her mother Uroko turned to her with a smile. "Yaku-chan, we are about to go out on duty soon, but first we will swing you by the hospital for a check-up." she told him.

Yakumo pouted as she hated the constant medical checks her parents send her off to. "Do I have to really go? I might miss training with Naruto this morning?" Yakumo pleaded as her father Murakumo nodded.

"Not today sweetie, after meeting Shisui Uchiha and he used his Sharingan on you. He found a strange anomaly within your head. The doctors all agreed that something was wrong and it might be the key on how to use your kekkei genkai. They state leaving it alone might be dangerous overall. That they called in a specialist from the Yamanaka clan to help fix it." Murakumo explained as Yakumo sighed.

"Okay," Yakumo agreed. She knew for a fact Shisui was carefree, funny, and understanding unlike some of his clan members. He was the one that took her to the hospital to be checked out during one of her training sessions.

Uroko smiled as she hugged her daughter. "I understand your enthusiasm, but if everything goes well you might be enrolled into the academy soon. The Doctor Nara says your body is getting stronger especially from taking the medicine that you take along with your training." Uroko told her.

"True, I would have never known the Nara Clan was into medicine like that. They apparently did extensive research on the body for the Akimichi clan. Though to take credit it was your friend Naruto that asked his friends Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi for their help." Murakumo pointed out.

"By the way, how long are you going to stay outside the village this time?" Yakumo worriedly asked her.

Murakumo and Uroko sighed. "We don't know Yakumo and it's classified for the time being. It might take a few weeks to finish since it's from the Hokage." Uroko told her as Yakumo nodded.

"I see…" she muttered in disappointment.

"Don't worry about training for today and I will be sure to tell Naruto you will be out for today." Murakumo told her as Yakumo sighed as she resigned to her fate.

 **.X.**

Uroko and Murakumo stood outside the waiting room as they waited for the procedure to be finished. As the door clicked open to reveal a ash blonde hair man with blue green eyes. He wore black and grey attire attributed that worked with the T&I. Though the man was the head of the Intelligence department.

He sighed and smiled. "The procedure went okay and I found out what wrong with your daughter overall." Inoichi smiled as he sat down in chair. He pulled out a picture from his pocket and showed it to her. It look like a demonic version of Yakumo shocking the parents.

"What is that?" Murakumo gasped.

Inoichi turned a bit sterned. "The medical ninja watching over her called it Ido. A sentient and malicious personality within Yakumo's mind, which had been generated from the id part of her psyche. In simple terms it's a form of a mental problem taken form due to her heavy influence of Yin-chakra. It held the power to subvert your daughter's mind." Inoichi explained.

"Did you fix this?" Uroko worriedly asked him as Inoichi nodded.

"Our clan has been dealing with mental problems or screw ups with our techniques first hand. So we merely placed a chakra draining seal that sapped away her yin chakra. Then I destroyed it personally within the mind itself. Then I managed to piece her mind back together and realized it was formed due to…" Inoichi explained.

"Due to what?" Murakumo wondered.

"Due to stress in the fact she couldn't be a ninja or to live up to your standards. She wanted to try so hard in bringing you honor as well rebuild the house you once had during the Kyuubi attack." Inoichi explained as the parents dropped their heads.

"I see, so our constant wishes for her to become a ninja did this." Murakumo muttered.

Inoichi raised up his hand. "True, but meeting Naruto itself held it back. In a sense positive reinforcement held it back on top of the fact she is training her body. It halted its advancement on her brain, but if Shisui didn't catch it for us. It would have been disastrous for you, the village, and anyone else nearby her." Inoichi explained. "So she will stay for a couple of days inside the hospital so she can recover from chakra exhaustion."

"We will be out the village during that time on a mission." Murakumo told him.

Inoichi nodded. "Of course, I believe you are going a mission with Maito Gai and Kosuke Maruboshi I believe." Inoichi pointed out. "Ah so where is she staying at for the time being?"

"We were hoping her friend Naruto for the time being." Uroko hoped as Inoichi crossed his legs.

"Really is it safe to leave your little girl inside a boy's place all alone. I have a little girl too, but right she is obsessed over Sasuke Uchiha right now. Almost every girl in class chase after him, well except Hinata Hyuga." Inoichi told them.

"Well the boy may not be liked, but he was the one that helped motivated her when she was down." Murakumo pointed out.

Inoichi nodded. "True, he was the one that mentioned her condition to the Shikamaru-kun. The pills the Nara clan make are a byproduct of a drug the Akimichi clan takes. I heard the boy is doing well in school now for the first time. It's no doubt he has changed quite a bit after he met Shisui Uchiha. Naruto still has trouble with people around the village, but I will send out word to Naruto in advance for another sleepover. I am guessing you have her clothes and things with you." Inoichi wondered.

Uroko gave Inoichi a storage scroll in hand. "All the things she need will be in this scroll along with her painting set. Please tell Yakumo not to over do it please." Uroko worriedly asked.

Inoichi nodded. "Be safe you two and good luck on your mission. Gai tends to be very eccentric and doesn't slow down at all." Inoichi warned them as the Kurama matriarchs gave their goodbyes.

Inoichi sighed getting up from his seat. "I might as well see how my little girl is doing in the academy today. I know Shikaku and Choza are lax with caring with their children, but I am afraid it doesn't over me luxury."

The ash blond haired man got up from his seat as he set out for the academy.

 **.X.**

The sound of cheering was going off in the air as Naruto sighed walking up to sparring field. Sasuke's little fangirl club was cheering for him. The boy was ignoring it as usual since he found it annoying.

"Go Sasuke-kun!" a girl shouting.

"You can beat him!" Sakura shouted as Iruka stood in between them.

Naruto and Sasuke raised up a half-ram seal. "Shinobi hand to hand combat…" Iruka begin. "Begin!'

He threw his hand down as the two boys charged each other. Sasuke went more on the defense as Naruto pressed forward. The two boys were connecting hits as Sasuke negating the boys punches with ease. Sasuke threw a kick towards as Naruto weaved out of the kick.

He caught Sasuke's leg with ease as he quickly slid his other foot under him knocking the boy on his back. Naruto jumped up high and try landing on Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke rolled out the way and grabbed Naruto's leg in submission hold. Naruto grunted from the pain as he did a quick hand stand picking Sasuke off the ground with him. He revolved his body like a cartwheel stomping over him.

Sasuke grunted as Naruto kicked at his ribs, while he was on the ground. Sasuke grunted rolling trying to get up.

"That's cheating, he is kicking him, while he is down!" Another girl shouted.

Sasuke grunted as he tried focusing hitting Naruto. _"I thought he had terrible taijutsu due to the fact he was kicked out the academy twice."_ Sasuke thought.

Sasuke swung with a right hook to see Naruto quickly duck under the hit. He quickly swung upwards with uppercut hitting him under the chin. Naruto smirked as he saw Sasuke was rearing back as he pressed the advantage. He grabbed his flailing arm and sweep kicked him off his feet.

Naruto twisted his arm into submission as Sasuke grunted. "Game set match!" Naruto told him.

Iruka nodded. "Match is over, but good fight you two. Perform the sign of reconciliation " Iruka told him as Naruto let go. Sasuke didn't do so as Naruto frowned.

"Naruto cheated again!" Sakura shouted as Naruto sighed in disappointment.

"Not quite Sakura, but the moves were actually valid in a fight. Even if he did attack on the ground once an enemy will do the same to you without mercy." Iruka lectured them as Sasuke walked away. "Well since Sasuke walked off, why don't you tell us why his attacks were not working so well, Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "He plays too much defense in his fighting styles. The interceptor fighting style reduces strength and speed to keep his opponents in front of them. It was never made for actual attacking the opponent first hand. Plus he needs the Sharingan to make it more effective to use in battle. He should have tried something else instead." Naruto told him.

Iruka nodded. "Quite true, so remember children don't be complacent in your fighting styles. If someone has seen enough of your fighting styles or jutsu's. They will learn how to counter them and then you will be all in deep trouble." Iruka lectured as he looked at the clock. "Look's like time is up is for the day itself. So I will give you guys some extra time to get ready and go home."

The children cheered as the girls ran over to find Sasuke. Shikamaru and Choji walked over to Naruto. "Good match Naruto," Choji complemented him.

Naruto smiled. "Thanks, though I wish everyone else would stop cheering for Sasuke." Naruto told him.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome girls, I just don't see why they like him. But besides that good fight, it's about time someone shut him up." Shikamaru congratulated him.

"Personally I think Kiba, Hinata, and Choji are the best in the class." Naruto pointed out.

"Thanks Naruto," Choji smiled.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, Choji's fighting style is centered around grappling the enemy. I find it troublesome to fight it so I quit the match a lot." Shikamaru told him.

"By the way are you guys doing something after school? I thought we could go out and get some food with me?" Naruto asked him as they walked along to go grab their stuff.

Shikamaru sighed. "I wish i could, but my mother is calling me home soon. Apparently I have to participate in clan training as well chores after school for a while." Shikamaru sighed looking up at the clouds. "Troublesome woman…"

Naruto looked over to Choji as he saw him frown. "The offer is tempting, but my I have clan training for a while. I am also meeting some of my relatives from Cha No Kuni (tea country and Taki no Kuni (waterfall country). Maybe next time Naruto, probably next week when Shikamaru is ungrounded." Choji told him.

Naruto nodded. "Sure, next monday will be good, right?" Naruto asked him as the two nodded. The group finally grabbed their stuff as the bell rang. Naruto made it over to his bag to see it's contents sprayed on the floor. As the word cheater was sprayed over it.

Naruto gave a big sigh as he noticed a permanent marker and ink drenched his bag along with his things. "Not again!" Naruto shouted in anger.

He scrambled to salvage his scrolls and books only to see his storage scrolls were only usable. "I will have to buy another bag and set of books again."

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome fan club, as soon as Sasuke starts to look bad. They do this stupid crap, Kiba had to deal with paint splashed over Akamaru one day for winning against him." Shikamaru pointed out.

"You should probably let Iruka-sensei know about this before you leave Naruto. Maybe he can get you a new set of books." Choji suggested as Naruto nodded.

A set of doors opened behind them as Iruka walked in. He saw Naruto picking up his stuff and frowned. "It seems they got you too Naruto, I swear girls can be so mean. Don't worry about the books themselves I will clean it up and give you a new set next week. Furthermore you should also throw away that bag of yours and hunt for a new one. One resistant to weather and spills please." Iruka advised.

"Their are other people besides Kiba and Naruto being messed with?" Choji asked him.

Iruka nodded. "Well of course, you guys don't pay attention to it. But overall Sakura Haruno has the best written scores out the class. She was bullied on the other day and Hinata Hyuga for the taijutsu spar weeks back. You should do your best to stay away from them for now. They are going through a phase in their life." Iruka explained to the three boys.

Shikamaru nodded. "That is what I planned on doing, but thanks sensei," Shikamaru told him.

"Though what is up with Sasuke, lately he is seems…" Naruto asked him as Iruka sighed.

"Well it's not my buisness, but I can tell it has to do with his big brother as least. So hurry you guys, I believe that your mother is here Shikamaru already with Choji's mother." Iruka told him.

Shikamaru grunted. "Naruto, is it alright I can take you up on your offer to eat BBQ." Shikamaru told him.

"Plan on skipping out again, eh Shikamaru." A woman's voice called out as Shikamaru cringed. Yoshino had long dark brown hair wrapped in a ponytail that accented her dark eyes. She wore a chunin vest and standard outfit.

Shikamaru turned around. "No, Naruto was offering to take us out to eat BBQ today." Shikamaru told her.

Choji nodded. "True, Yoshino-san, Naruto did ask us if he wants to eat with us." Choji added as Naruto nodded.

"Though you might have other plans for today, so we will schedule it around monday then, hopefully." Naruto agreed.

Yoshino nodded. "Damn right he is, you have been sleeping in class too many times and making horrible grades. Choji don't think you are off the hook for eating in class and not participating in your studies as well too." Yoshino lectured as Iruka nodded.

"You two brought this problem upon yourselves, but Naruto is the only one cleaning up his act out of the four you guys. I still have troubles trying to Kiba from running away from class to play with Akamaru." Iruka announced.

Yoshino turned to Iruka with a smile. "Oh don't worry about that Tsume knows what is going on and he is being punished too." Yoshino explained as Shikamaru cringed.

"Naruto, is not that squeaky clean, he still pranks people time to time." Shikamaru told him.

Naruto turned his head innocently. "I don't know what you are talking about Shikamaru, but I have to go now. See you later Yoshino-san and please take it easy on Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted as he tried running by. He was grabbed by the collar of the shirt as she lifted him up to eye level.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about your little trick with some of colleagues, Naruto. I know for a fact that the seal traps placed throughout sudden standby station was your doing." Yoshino told him.

Naruto looked up at her as he smiled. A puff of smoke enveloped her hand blocking his vision. The sound of the window opened up as Naruto escaped through the window with ease. Yoshino and Iruka sighed.

"I thought he quit with the pranks?" Iruka muttered in disappointment.

Yoshino nodded. "He has toned it down, from the usual norm he did two years ago. Though this time around he is not doing to get back at people." Yoshino explained. "Though I have to be impressed he didn't even any seals of Kawarimi jutsu."

Iruka nodded. "True, he is getting better, but I will talk to him about his pranking habits." Iruka told him.

Yoshino waved it off. "I hardly doubt it, Naruto thinks placing traps down on unsuspecting is a form of training, from what my husband tells me." Yoshino stopped him.

Shikamaru looked up in envy. "Naruto gets a pass on pranking the standby station and I don't?" Shikamaru asked her.

Yoshino bopped him on the head. "At least he is doing better than you at school. Besides that Naruto doesn't have anyone else that would train him. Truthfully the only person he got with it was my lazy husband, which was a good laugh." Yoshino giggled as Shikamaru nodded his head.

Naruto ran outside as he was making his way outside the gate with a smile. He saw the numerous families members were coming to pick up their children. He saw Sasuke was talking to older Uchiha boy that stood over him. He was nursing Sasuke's injuries as he frowned.

"Aniki, I am telling you I am fine!" Sasuke whined as Itachi nodded.

"Of course you are not, usually you come home without injury who were you fighting today, Sasuke?" Itachi asked him.

Shisui walked up behind Itachi. "He was fighting Naruto Uzumaki and got his butt beat badly." Shisui joked.

Itachi nodded his head. "Sasuke how many times have we told you not to use the interceptor style. It wasn't made combat against stronger and faster opponents." Itachi lectured him.

"Shisui-san!" Naruto shouted happily as he ran over to him.

"Hey Naruto, it's been awhile since we last met!" Shisui happily greeted him.

Sasuke looked on in shock. "How do you know him Shisui? Why would he talk to you?" Sasuke shouted in anger.

Shisui smirked as he patted Naruto's head. "Well I believe someone said I wouldn't beat Itachi ever in a fight. Saying he was better than me in every other way. Yet I found Naruto, someone with a lot of potential and heart. If I could teach him to be better than you … well you know the result. Besides he know who is the coolest of the two of us." Shisui mocked Sasuke.

"It's Shisui-san, he comes by trains me time to time as well see if I improve!" Naruto shouted happily as Sasuke frowned.

He turned towards Itachi. "Nii-san, train me so I can beat Naruto! Your training is probably ten times better then Shisui's easily." Sasuke protested.

Itachi looked taken back as he looked over to Shisui and Naruto who were smiling widely. Itachi sighed as he poked his forehead. "Sorry Sasuke, but some other time. Besides that I doubt Shisui has taught him advanced techniques." Itachi told him.

Shisui held his hands and nodded his head. "Well Sasuke, I am sorry I got to run, but me and Naruto has some training to do. Besides that it looks like you will need to replace that bag of your Naruto as well." Shisui noticed.

"Wait up, before you go!" a voice called out to them. As they saw Inoichi walking up to them with Ino in tow.

"Hey Sasuke-kun, is that your brother?" Ino asked him.

Sasuke sighed as Shisui nodded. "Well that was very rude Sasuke, the girl asked you a question. Well I answer it for you Ojou-chan. I am Sasuke's not cool cousin apparently Shisui. Of course the guy standing next to him is Itachi his big brother." Shisui answered.

Ino gave a short bow. "Hello Itachi-san, it's nice to meet you!" Ino greeted him.

Inoichi sighed at his daughter antics. "It's good to see you are all doing well, but I came to talk to you about Yakumo, Naruto." Inoichi told him.

Sasuke and Ino looked confused by this.

"Who is Yakumo," the two muttered.

"Well it's need to know, but she is planning to stay over at your apartment for awhile. Though right now she will be in the hospital for a two days more before she's released. So be sure to visit her and make sure she is alright, eh Naruto." Inoichi told him as he tossed him a storage scroll.

"Will do!" Naruto shouted.

"Ah, so our your prodigy got her problem fixed. Will she be able to go to the academy soon?" Shisui asked him.

Inoichi nodded. "Of course, in a month or two she will be ready to enter the academy soon. Naruto be sure to keep that scroll safe it contains her things." Inoichi warned him as Naruto nodded.

Inoichi walked over with Ino as she waved bye. "Bye Sasuke! See you next week!" Ino shouted as Sasuke frowned.

He turned to Itachi now. "Nii-san who is Yakumo?" Sasuke asked him.

Itachi thought about if for a moment. "Well her name is Yakumo Kurama I believe, the clan is highly adept in using genjutsu." Itachi told him.

Sasuke scoffed at it. "Genjutsu, doesn't hold up to the Sharingan at all, plus it's something people don't use at all." Sasuke told him.

Naruto turned his head. "Doesn't the sharingan produce genjutsu? Besides that Yakumo's genjutsu is awesome! Don't bad mouth her because you're jealous."Naruto shouted at him. "Besides that your brother and Shisui use genjutsu."

Naruto pointed out as Sasuke turned to Itachi and Shisui. Itachi nodded in confirmation. "Of course we can use genjutsu, Sasuke. I even use genjutsu time to time myself." Itachi admitted as Sasuke frowned.

"So, but Naruto isn't special at all, it's only because Shisui's training…" Sasuke started as Shisui bopped him on the head.

"Don't spout such useless things Sasuke, it shows weak character. It's obvious that you are jealous of him getting some form of training. Overall I only trained him for a month and we meet up time to time. It's hardly a full time training thing, but overall I kept him the same realm of training you might have gotten. The problem is your lazy and complacent since your class isn't good yet. Naruto is working hard for his dream, so don't mock him. Besides earlier you didn't even do the seal of reconciliation, because you were jealous." Shisui pointed out.

Itachi sighed. "Sasuke, did you do that?" Itachi asked him as Sasuke dropped his head. "Sasuke, your classmates are future comrades one day." Itachi lectured him as he dragged him along.

Shisui turned towards Naruto. "Well kiddo, since Itachi is in lecture mode. Why don't we go pick up a few things. First of all a new pouch that fits across the middle of your back. Then we can go out shopping to make a gift basket for Yaku-chan."

"Gift basket…?" Naruto asked the older Uchiha.

Shisui gave off a smile. "Oh that is right, you never ever received one let alone gave one. But usually we make them to help cheer up people stuck in the hospital. So we build a basket filled with goodies and things they would play with." Shisui told him.

"Like flowers?" Naruto asked as Shisui nodded.

"No, flowers are a bad gift to give due to the fact it's hard caring for them. As well it's for long hospital stays or the fact someone is incredibly ill. Watching a flower die is pretty sad, furthermore never give four things away. That is bad luck and usually represents death, as well 9 and 13. You can upset people doing that, Naruto. Besides that was does Yakumo like.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Well she loves the painting, cake, etc." Naruto began listing as Shisui nodded.

"Cake and painting, I believe we can pick something up like that, but I am also picking up something for Itachi. His birthday is rolling around on June 9th, I don't expect anyone in the clan to care for his birthday. But he is feeling the pressure of being in anbu lately for many reasons." Shisui explained.

"They don't celebrate his birthday?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui sighed. "They hardly ever do and Sasuke's is the only birthday they celebrate at times. Our family has grown…" Shisui muttered as he stopped himself.

"Something wrong?" Naruto curiously asked him.

Shisui nodded. "It's nothing you can't understand Naruto, but I greatly believe in the notion of family. You should never let your problems affect or hurt anyone within it. In a sense the village is like a family to many and despite what people think of you. You can easily prove them wrong about you." Shisui explained.

"Um… what brought this on?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui sighed. "Clan issues overall, sometimes I believe pushing a child to be a shinobi too soon has it's consequences. They start to lose a bit about them and their light. That is why I don't want you to rush through your training. You are not ready to face the harsh realities of Shinobi hood, but overall do not give into the dark side of the Shinobi life such as Anbu. Kind people like you and I take a turn for the worse." Shisui explained.

Naruto nodded. "Of course." Naruto answered.

Shisui calmed down as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch and handed it to him. "Today's little lesson will be a different than most, but harder in nature. You won't get this for quite awhile, but it's worth teaching sense it's a samurai move in nature." Shisui told him.

Naruto's eyes sparkled happy. "A samurai technique, what are they like?" Naruto asked happily as he Shisui smirked.

"Well overall Samurai techniques in general are about the Iaido are the art of drawing the sword, cut, clean the blade, and sheath with an instant. A man named Mifune is the leader of the Iron Country and he is a skilled swordsmen. All shinobi nations fear upsetting the samurai in any way." Shisui lectured Naruto. "One of these techniques samurai sabre technique, it's a technique that Sharingan itself cannot copy, because it's a shape manipulation trick."

"Shape manipulation?" Naruto asked him as Shisui nodded.

He began to form chakra around his kunai as he grunted as he shaped the blue chakra into a sword shape. He waved it around as he cut the road with it.

Naruto looked at it with awe. "How did you learn this?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui smirked. "From a passing ronin samurai named Tatewaki who was looking for a job. I hired to teach me the move for fun, but it was harder than expected. You will need to learn how to control your chakra more properly to even perform this technique. Despite it's new reach and cutting powers. It's said that this technique can punch through stone and damage the object passed it." Shisui carefully explained.

"So don't use it on allies?" Shisui explained as the boy nodded.

"Of course, but I doubt you would get this ability so soon. Steel is not very conductive with chakra, but it's doable in nature. That is why most ninja rely on chakra metal to channel their chakra through their weapon. This technique in question can be shaped into other things like axes or lances in nature. But overall releasing the chakra you can send it flying over a huge area." Shisui explained as he handed Naruto the scroll on the technique.

"Thank you," Naruto thanked him as he tried channeling his chakra into the kunai. He saw the kunai was shaking in his hands as Shisui laughed.

"Well it seemed you caught on to it, but leaf exercise is important for a reason. But this exercise in question ranks level 4 in shape manipulation training. So promise me, not to train until you are 12 at least." Shisui explained.

Naruto looked at him flabbergasted. "What, I have to wait that late to learn such a technique?!" Naruto shouted.

Shisui nodded with a serious face. "Of course, shape manipulation training isn't something a genin knows let along a academy student knows. It goes hand and hand to another with another lesson most Chunin start to know. But that is for another time, the training itself is very brutal. Even I had difficulties learning it since it places such a strain on your body. Your tenketsu points in your hand will make cry in agony. Not even I am master of this technique, I know only the bare basics." Shisui warned him.

Naruto nodded. "I promise." Naruto promised as Shisui nodded. The Uchiha took back his kunai now. He pulled out another scroll from his pouch and placed two scrolls in his hand.

"This is for Yaku-chan I managed to record two nifty genjutsu inside both scrolls. Something a beginner and learn and use real quickly. We can add them to them to the gift basket for her." Shisui pointed out.

Naruto pouted. "It sucks I can't even start learning this technique." Naruto muttered as Shisui ruffled his forehead.

"Well if you want a real reason, why I don't teach you. Overloading your chakra into it can cause it to instead of letting it flow is quite disastrous. It's like holding an explosive note in your hand, except shards." Shisui warned him as Naruto gulped.

" _Naruto is such a sucker, but that is what I love about him. True it wouldn't blow up like an explosive note, but overloading it with chakra can cause it to break and shoot shrapnel everywhere."_ Shisui thought.

"Since we are the subject of training how is Yakumo doing learning how to use a senbon?" Shisui asked him.

Naruto shrugged. "Well she is doing better than me, anyway." Naruto grumbled as he fiddled with his thumbs.

Shisui laughed. "True senbon, are harder to use then, compared to regular shinobi tools that we employ. But overall it's a great weapon for her to learn due to the fact they be combined with poison one day or a sleeping agent. With proper medical knowledge you can also learn how to disable people, especially their arms or legs." Shisui explained.

"Why do you want her to wield wire as weapon too?" Naruto asked him.

Shisui shrugged. "Because it goes it well with genjutsu skills overall, you can lay down traps more effective using subtle genjutsu. Her strength may not be good to physically overwhelm people, but ninja wire is something she can use to tip that scale. Besides that I think it's time to give her that to play around with." Shisui explained leaving Naruto confused.

"Give her that?" Naruto asked him as Shisui shrugged with a smile.

"It's a surprise and it will go great with her ninja skills." Shisui told him as it kept the young boy wondering.

Shisui turned his head back around to see a young Hinata watching from before as she popped back behind a pillar.

" _It seems he does have admirer after all, but she doesn't speak to him at all. How cute…"_ Shisui thought.

"By the way Naruto, what girl is not even in Sasuke's little fan club?" Shisui asked him.

Naruto sat back for a moment to think about it for a moment. "Um… there are only few girls in class that don't like Sasuke like that. I know for a fact Hinata isn't and there is Natsuki." Naruto called out trying names.

"Why not try to make friends with her at the academy then? You could introduce her to Yaku-chan since they have the same background together." Shisui suggested as Naruto shrugged.

"True, I never talk to her, but she always avoids talking to me or looking me in the eye. Though it's not like the villagers stares at times." Naruto muttered as Shisui laughed. "What is so funny?"

Naruto shouted as Shisui laughed at him.

 **.X.**

The next day rolled around as Naruto checked his clothes to see they were all right. He wore a dark blue shirt, orange vest jacket, orange shorts, and blue sandals. He sported a new pouch on his back that was fitted to the small of his back. It carried his various training materials inside of it along with his storage scrolls.

He held up a giant wrapped gift basket filled with wrapped up snacks, paint set, brushes, and two ninjutsu scroll inside the basket. He carried a set of ten canvases with him inside a his storage scroll along with a item called Tetsugen.

A device that was hand held in a way, but strapped to bicep using leather straps lined with silk. It was made from a light steel alloy so it wouldn't weigh down a person's arm. It allowed a person to employ a weighted chain or kunai to wire for various attacks. It was also good for repelling or crossing huge gaps as well. It also held a section to help carry a tanto as well underneath the wheel section.

The weapon overall was used by Mikoto Uchiha at one time who was Sasuke and Itachi's mother. She was a brilliant Shurikenjutsu expert that outshine even Itachi's skill, but she settled down to become a housewife.

He was amazed that Shisui managed to grab such a thing, he was told a rather unsettling thing about it. She wanted to continue, but her role as matriarch of the Uchiha limited her in a way. As most kunoichi that have kids tend to stop working all together, well except for Kiba's mom. It begged the question how many of the girls in his class would graduate as well stay being a shinobi.

Naruto snapped out of his mind as he made his way to the front desk. He saw the medic ninja sitting down staring at him.

"Do you need something?" He asked Naruto as he nodded.

"Of course, I am looking for Yakumo Kurama room." Naruto asked as the man looked down at the schedule to check it. "Third floor in room number 5, don't make hassle the patients here at all. This place is sacred and place of recovery." He warned Naruto as Naruto noticed his name badge. He saw the name the Kito on his badge as he wore the standard white uniform of a Iryo-nin (medic ninja).

"Kito-san, if you don't mind me asking? Why isn't that the academy doesn't teach anything about medical ninja? I hardly know anything about them except they can heal." Naruto asked him.

The man sighed as he looked at the clock for a moment. "Fine, I have some time to talk." Kito agreed. "The academy itself is enabler or a building block that young people aspiring to shinobi's tend to learn. Though overall they pass over medical treatments and first aid with ease. Overall the life expectancy of a shinobi is relatively short in nature if you gain an injury you cannot heal. a comrade's life may be in a life threatening danger of bleeding out. So I am guessing you don't know a lick about healing someone." Kito explained.

Naruto nodded. "No one knows anything about healing in class. I don't even think the older kids in other classes know too." Naruto truthfully admitted.

"I see, but overall becoming a medic ninja isn't so simple. You will need to have extensive knowledge of the body, herbs, medicines, and poisons. Another requirement you will need to have is very advanced chakra control." Kito explained.

Naruto nodded. "Someone like me is very unsuited, but a genjutsu user is most likely suited for this." Naruto added as Kito nodded.

"True, the reason why many people can't perform medical jutsu is due to their chakra control is horrible. Academy students trying to learn medical ninjutsu would be swamped in an instant, but that is not the only reason why it's hard to become one."

"It's not?" Naruto asked him.

"You would need to adhere to the rules to becoming a medic ninja role. We don't see combat often, but when we do we have to follow a set of rules." Kito explained as he pointed to a chart on the wall. He read it out to Naruto.

 _No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of the party members have come to an end._

 _No medic ninja shall stand on the front lines._

 _No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last in their platoon._

Naruto gulped as he turned towards him. "That seems like a very extreme set of rules, but you can break them, right?" Naruto asked him.

Kito sighed. "Well the only person to break such a rules was Tsunade Senju due her immense strength. Though overall the rules can be disregarded at times. Though you will need to be a jounin level ninja and accomplish several high risk missions before attempting it." Kito explained.

Naruto nodded. "Thanks for telling me and I will be on my way now." Naruto told him. Kito held out his hand for a moment.

"Stop, before you go I want you to have something." Kito explained. He went into the back room to grab a few things. It only took a few minutes to come back out. He placed a medical kit on the desk for Naruto along with several scrolls for him.

"Your giving this to me?" Naruto incredulously asked him as Kito nodded.

"I can't count how many times a academy student or a genin itself running through my doors with such injuries. So to stop such a thing, I might as well hand materials teaching first aid to people." Kito carefully explained as he pointed to the scrolls. "One is basic instruction on how the body works, how to perform first aid, the history of medical ninja, and one on how to use medicinal herbs you can use to help people. No, I know what you are thinking, learning medical ninjutsu without a supervisor is dangerous."

Naruto nodded as he picked up the scroll and the medical-kit. He gave a polite bow to the man itself. "Thank you for the scrolls." Naruto thanked him as Kito nodded.

Naruto made his way up the hospital as he made his way up the third floor, He walked to room number 5 to hear giggling from it. He knocked on the door as the giggling began to die down.

"Who is it?" a familiar voice called out.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto answered quickly.

"Come in." the voice called out to him as Naruto slid the door open. He walked inside as he closed the door behind him. He quickly noticed a tired Yakumo was sitting in bed and she gave a small smile.

"Hey Naruto-kun, thank you for seeing me today." Yakumo thanked him as Naruto smiled.

"Your welcome, but I have a gift for you. It comes from Shisui-san and me, so please enjoy it." Naruto explained as he walked up and handed her the basket. She took gratefully as Naruto also laid down a scroll on the table.

"Thank you for the gift and the sweets. The hospital food here isn't very good to eat and thank goodness I can leave tomorrow." Yakumo happily told him as she noticed the two scrolls inside the basket. "Are these jutsu scrolls?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course they are, but I don't know what they are in general. Shisui said it was two genjutsu he written down using his sharingan. I know for a fact that inside this storage scroll there are ten canvases' and a Tetsugen inside it." Naruto told her.

Yakumo cocked her head to the side." What is a tetsugen?" She asked him as Naruto relayed the information to her as he unsealed it for her. She nodded her head with a smile. "I see, but it makes wish that he was here so I can give thanks to him. But how is the academy going for you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shrugged folding his arms. "I am doing well and I even managed to beat Sasuke in a taijutsu match. Though he never congratulated me at all or did the seal of reconciliation. Now his little fan club is getting on my nerves, they ruined by my last pouch, books, and almost my sealing scrolls." Naruto annoyingly told him.

"Someone has a fan club?" Yakumo asked him.

Naruto nodded. "I didn't want to tell you at first, but almost everyone girl in class is chasing Sasuke Uchiha for some reason. People who managed to get one over him are usually bullied in some way. I just don't see why people will call him special, besides that I think Shisui is amazing." Naruto told her.

Yakumo nodded her self. "Well I can see why they formed one, but I think it's too…" Yakumo blushed trying to avoid the conversation.

"Too much of what?" Naruto happily asked.

"Too excessive in nature." Yakumo finished. "Besides that a lot of girls are encouraged to make some connections with the four noble houses of Konoha. Some of the girls think by marrying him they might live a happy and easy life." She pointed out leaving Naruto confused.

"What…?" Naruto muttered as Yakumo blushed. "Why would they think such a thing? I thought we were training in becoming ninja."

Yakumo nodded. "Well I do think it's silly to think of such a thing, girls tend to fail to focus on their training and work towards their appearance. They make give real kunoichi a terrible impression, I heard many of them many end up quitting getting normal jobs, because they can't handle the workload. The four noble houses in general have a distinct way of picking marriage candidates." Yakumo explained to Naruto.

"By the way if the Uchiha is one of the four noble houses. Who are the others?" Naruto asked her.

Yakumo pointed her finger up to the number three. "One is the Hyuga clan, the Akimichi Clan would be the second, and the last one would be the Aburame Clan." She counted for Naruto. "The reason why they are so famous is due to their origin stories. Uchiha clan is one that helped formed fire country, they have a remarkable chakra and the Sharingan. Aburame clan is held their respect by defeating the Kamizuru clan which used bees as a weapon. They stopped a swarm of killer bees from overrunning the main forces in the Second great shinobi war." She explained.

"So Shino's clan is really that important, he doesn't say much about himself." Naruto muttered.

"The Akimichi clan in general are guardians to the Yamanaka Clan and Nara Clan. They hold the line during war time in most crucial points during the great wars. The Hyuuga clan in general their skills combined with their Byakugan has helped the land of fire multiple times in the past. They can see the enemy for miles, detect traps, and disable opponents with lethal efficiency. To the point several nations acknowledge their strength." Yakumo explained in detail. "Don't forget the connections they have made along with their money."

Naruto nodded. "By the way what did the doctors say about you joining the Academy?" Naruto curiously smiled.

Yakumo beamingly smiled. "The doctor says I am healthy enough to go the Academy as soon as I get out of the hospital. I just need to wait until Monday until I can join your class." She cheerily told him.

Naruto jumped for joy. "Alright, and now you can finally become a ninja!" Naruto cheered for her as he hugged the girl enthusiastically causing her to blush. She gently hugged him back.

"Thank you for supporting me in my endeavors Naruto-kun, but I have a long way to go before I can do the things normal shinobi can do." Yakumo happily told him.

Naruto pulled out the hug and nodded. "I might as well copy my notes from the academy since you are joining." Naruto told her as she nodded.

"By the way, are my parents coming back home soon?" Yakumo asked him as Naruto shrugged.

"I don't think they are coming home any time soon, but I was given a storage scroll filled with your things to watch over. You will be staying over my place for time being." Naruto happily told her.

"Really, what about the building itself are your reconstructing it?" Yakumo asked him as Naruto nodded.

"Of course, the old landlord recently died and no one took up the position of landlord. I took over it and I making sure to redo the whole building itself along with landscape. Though I don't know a lick about interior decorating." Naruto truthfully admitted.

Yakumo's eyes widened up in excitement. "Can I help design the interior and exterior then, Naruto-kun?" Yakumo excitedly asked.

Naruto nodded. "Okay, but right now, I have hired some people to help redo the building. So you can help wherever you choose to? Luckily I hired some carpenters from River Country with Shisui's recommendation." Naruto told her.

Meanwhile outside the hospital as a black haired woman was wearing a chunin vest over her white uniform as she stared from afar seeing the two talk. She sighed as she turned her head as she noticed a familiar person sitting behind her. She saw a woman with purple hair tied up in a spiky fanned ponytail. As her brown pupil less eyes stared happily at her. She wore a custom chainmail suit that went down from her neck to her thighs. She wore the bare basics of any clothing such a tan overcoat, orange mini-skirt, shin guards, and black sandals.

"I finally found you Kurenai and you sitting around here. In the most boring spot in Konoha." Anko spat as Kurenai nodded.

"True, and I am sorry from keeping you from eating your dango, Anko." Kurenai apologized as her friend walked up to her. She watched across to see Yakumo talking to Naruto.

"So that was your first student, eh?" Anko pointed as Kurenai pointed out.

"I did a horrible job trying to train her and it took a seven year old boy to help her become a ninja." Kurenai muttered as Anko hit on the back hard.

"Enough with that loser talk, you just failed understanding her feelings Nai-chan. Besides you didn't just didn't think about the fact of asking for help from other people." Anko lectured her friend.

Kurenai nodded. "True, the Nara clan knows how to produce medicine that can help improve the body. Just recently Inoichi found some weird demon lurking in her mind. One created by her genjutsu due to stress of not becoming a kunoichi." Kurenai pointed out.

"Well good for her, she is at least trying to make the effort of being a kunoichi unlike those fakers who attend the academy. Also forming little fan clubs around potential husbands or the coolest people in class." Anko complained.

"Anko they are still just children still." Kurenai pointed out as Anko shrugged.

"Okay Nai-chan they are still children with no ounce of sex appeal still, but is there something bothering you still." Anko wondered as her friend nodded.

"Hinata Hyuga has been placed under my care now since she… isn't clan head material." Kurenai muttered.

Anko raised her eyebrow. "So those white eyes freaks are still acting stupid? No child would act normal after a kidnap attempt, especially if their mother died so early. So what's wrong with this kid, I hope it's not another frail one?" Anko curiously asked her.

"Overall there is nothing wrong with her physically, but mentally there is a problem. She doesn't like fighting her clan members or anyone else. She has been dragged down by her father's cruel and intense training regiment making things rather worse. She stutters a lot and apologizes for almost every little thing." Kurenai admitted.

"But you are not the type to just drop things at the tip of the hat, especially when you mess up once." Anko pointed out.

"There is some hope, but she related to Naruto in a way and hopes to be strong like him. She is trying her hardest to keep up to his example." Kurenai explained.

Anko smirked. "Ah, so she has a crush on him, how sweet." Anko taunted.

Kurenai nodded. "I can't just force the two to meet, but she needs to work up the courage to talk to him herself. Otherwise her confidence overall will not build up." Kurenai pointed out. "If I can't do that to help her becoming a jounin would be a harder feat for me overall. Who want's a squad captain that is unable to inspire or help their teammates in need."

Anko placed her hand on her shoulder. "Hey calm down now, you will make jounin sooner or later. You will just need to take it one step at a time. You will need to build up a lot of combat experience with leading a team through more dangerous missions first." Anko told her as Kurenai nodded.

"Let's go get some dango and sake in the evening so we can relax for the day." Kurenai offered as Anko jumped in joy.

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Anko shouted as she took off first to restaurant as Kurenai followed.

 **.X.**

 _A month has passed_

As a looming sadness hanged over the village as Naruto trailed quietly through the streets back to his apartment. He wore a black clothing all over that matched his sandals. He tried his hardest not to cry as he looked down at the photo of him and Shisui. He held onto the will in his hand tightly. He managed to make his way up to the top of his apartment to sit down at his garden.

His death was regarded with suspicion or disbelief stating he committed suicide. Stating that he was tired of the missions he was employed to do. Stating that the Uchiha had no future and he had none at all.

No one in his entire family didn't even show up to his funeral at all. Despite the fact he was well liked, they brushed it off like it was minuscule. He was the only that attended the funeral and obtained a will from Shisui. All his worldly possessions and his money was transferred to him instead of his clan.

He couldn't just wrap his head around what was going on. He heard the sound of footsteps hitting the top of the roof. He saw Itachi sitting on the ledge before him. He looked at Naruto with a solemn look.

"I see you went to Shisui's funeral alone, I can't thank you for more than enough for attending to, paying for the funeral and donating your white chrysanthemum, bluebells, and daffodils flowers to his grave. I know for a fact he would love what you did." Itachi told him.

Naruto tried mustering up some words. "W-why would he do this? I know he wouldn't have committed suicide like that?" Naruto asked as Itachi closed his eyes.

The young Uchiha nodded. "True, he wouldn't have done it, unless there was a reason behind it. Did Shisui say anything weird and out of the ordinary once to you." Itachi agreed.

Naruto took a moment to think about it as he looked up in shock. "About a month ago, when you retrieved Sasuke from the Academy. We were talking about what gifts to give to Yakumo and your a gift for your birthday party. Then he stopped himself for a moment's saying something like family is important. He said not to rush to become a shinobi so fast." Naruto stopped as Itachi nodded.

Itachi dropped his head and nodded. "That sounds like something he would say." Itachi muttered with sorrow. He pulled out a black storage scroll. He unraveled it as a puff of smoke came from it. As two wooden swords appeared before him as he grabbed them mid-flight. He unraveled the scroll even more to reveal instructions to a basic kata.

"Since Shisui isn't here anymore it's up to me to give you one more last lesson then."

Naruto turned his head his a little more. "One more last lesson?" Naruto asked him as Itachi nodded.

"He intended to teach you the basics of kenjutsu, but with his death he would be unable to. But I will pound the basics into for this whole month. Then you will do your own training based on what the scroll says." Itachi told him as he handed the wooden sword to him.

Naruto nodded moving to the side. Itachi held one hand to the side as he pointed his sword. "The first lesson will be on stance then form. Then we will move to footwork and then strikes." Itachi told him.

Naruto took both hands on the sword. "Then what's next?" Naruto asked him.

"Then I will show you how to make cuts that don't kill people as well give a full sparring lesson." Itachi told him. "I will not be gentle at all, when wielding a sword you should fear it. It's dark, ghastly, and ugly weapon meant for only one thing, killing." Itachi told him as Naruto nodded.

"Then why do you wield one?" Naruto asked him.

Itachi closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Simple, because the alternative is worse Naruto-kun, by doing nothing at all you can easily abandon people to their deaths." Itachi explained. "When you run along with a tough situation of someone dying it's best to think of the good times with them. Not to give into anger, but to another solution. To defeat sorrow you will need to have hope. Just killing your enemy doesn't solve problems it creates more."

"Then how do you solve it?" Naruto asked him as Itachi chuckled.

"Well it's up to you to figure out that answer, it's no fun giving one out and stunting your growth. Come now, before lunch time comes around." Itachi told him as he told him straighten up Naruto's stance.

Naruto followed his instructions as he forced Naruto on the edge of the building to practice. "By the way is there a way to use jutsu, while using a sword?" Naruto asked him.

Itachi nodded. "Of course, but it requires perfect chakra control and hand seals. The way to use it may need one handed seals." Itachi told him.

"One handed hand seals?" Naruto asked him.

Itachi nodded as he showed Naruto a kata's on his side of the roof. He turned his head making a half tiger seal as he breathed a giant fire ball with ease. He turned back to Naruto with a stern look. "Do not attempt this trick if your chakra control is terrible make sure to learn more chakra control exercises in time. This trick was developed by Mist Ninja in response to them wielding swords, but hardly ever employed. You should do well to study on your history and branch out of the things you do. Take the time to talk to people outside this country to understand them." Itachi warned as Naruto nodded.

"Study people's history and learn more about them." Naruto agreed as he continued the lesson his lesson with Itachi.

…

 _(A month and half passed)_

Naruto sat in class by his friend Yakumo as he wooden sword sat by his side. He was well beaten thanks to the practice Itachi gave him. Though he didn't see him at all since then since he was busy with clan duties.

He saw his friend Yakumo was sitting down playing shogi with Shikamaru during self-study time as he was reading a book on Land of Fire's history. He learned the fact that the the old Hokage they had was a master of Ninjutsu as well create when he was growing up. As well master five types of elemental chakra. He didn't even have a kekkei genkai backing him up at all.

He saw Choji was snacking on some potato chips run out as he looked at him. "Hey Naruto, do you have any more potato chips?" Choji asked him.

"No, I gave them all to you. I am going to try eat healthy so I can grow to a good height before I can gorge on some ramen." Naruto told him.

Shikamaru looked down at the shogi board as Yakumo made her move. "Don't worry Choji, we can stock on some snacks after school, though it seems like a light day to me. What has the whole school and the teaches in a frantic though? I didn't even see my old man at home this morning." Shikamaru pointed out.

Yakumo looked up at him. "Me, too my mother was gone from the house this morning as well." Yakumo told him.

Choji looked at them. "You too as well." Choji asked them.

Shikamaru sighed. "Something big must be going on, but what." Shikamaru muttered as they heard the door of the classroom open.

They saw a tired looking Iruka now as he stood at the front of the class. "Class, I have something important to tell you." Iruka told them as everyone turned quiet.

"What is it Iruka-sensei, is this about Sasuke-kun?" a girl named Ami asked.

Iruka shrugged and then nodded. "Yes, your classmate Sasuke Uchiha will not be coming today or back to class for the near future. There has been an attack… no a massacre killing almost all the Uchiha clan off except Sasuke. From this day on Itachi Uchiha is an S-rank missing nin who is responsible for such a heinous crime." Iruka announced silencing the class as Naruto gaped. "All Academy classes will be suspended for the time being for at least a week to focus on the manhunt as well defense of this village. So pack your bags and you all can go head home."

All the children solemnly did as Naruto looked at his wooden practice sword. _"There is no way Itachi could have done such a thing, right. Shisui was his best friend and he didn't like fighting all together. Something isn't right with this, you just suddenly don't kill everyone."_ Naruto thought as he gripped his wooden sword.

Yakumo tapped him on the shoulder. "Is there something wrong Naruto?" She asked him.

Naruto nodded. "I just didn't see this happening? I thought Itachi loved his clan…" Naruto muttered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Many he cracked under pressure." Shikamaru told them.

"He cracked under pressure?" Choji asked him.

Shikamaru nodded. "The fact he became a shinobi at such a young age messed with his mind the most. That studies show becoming a ninja so young messes you up in the head more. Sure you can get powerful really easy, but the trade off is horrible, on top of it all that you have to consider what the Uchiha clan traditions are. They are much more strict than any other clan disciplines unlike the Hyuga." he explained.

"So your lesson for the story is to not work hard?" Yakumo asked as he nodded.

"Well that is my excuse and I will pitch to my mother in due time." Shikamaru told them.

Yakumo turned to Naruto. "Since we have the free day off, can we go swimming Naruto?" Yakumo asked him as Naruto nodded.

"Sure, I will need to go home first to pick up my swimming trunks first." Naruto told her as she smiled happily. Naruto looked out the window as he sheathed his sword to his waist. "I should focus on the good times, eh as well make my own memories. I will need to have hope if I want to beat sorrow." Naruto muttered.

He turned away from the window picking up his pouch and headed out the door. As a crow with a sharingan eye looked on with interest before it flew off into the distance.

.X.

 **Hello my viewers and thank you for taking your time out to read this. I know it's a bit slow, but the story will pick up soon. I promise you, I wanted to develop a few characters before I start skipping through the years, like others do.**

 **Since I am not hearing a lot of feedback, so I will keep rolling on with the story at hand. So thank you all for the support so far shown and I will hopefully have another chapter up soon in the future.**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the concept of this alternate world I made in Fanfiction. By the time you read this you will wonder why I made the chapter this way. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **Ch.4 High Honors**

.x.

 _( Five years have passed)_

Naruto yawned as he now stretched in his seat. He had grown to the height of 5,1 over the past five years. He was just an inch shorter than his tallest classmate Shino Aburame. He wore a burnt orange jacket over his white shirt, black baggy pants, and black sandals. He sat down at the secretary's desk inside the Hokage Tower.

He looked back down at his desk to see the paperwork he just laid before him as he let out a soft sigh. "Hokage-jiji has so much paperwork to do, it must frustrate him so much." Naruto muttered. He looked over his tasks that the Hokage gave him for the morning shift.

" _Thank goodness, I was smart enough to make an actual triplicate form for the office itself. No self-respecting person wants to keep writing this over and over."_ Naruto thought as he went through a stack of papers.

Naruto glanced over a paperwork to see if their were any important red tabs on them. He picked up one to look at it carefully, it was a meeting with the teachers of the Academy. He began checking the the stack of paper making sure they were separated by color:

 _Red was top priority, blue and yellow were normal reports, purple was on merit promotions or added objectives to a mission, and the green reports themselves were mostly Academy related material._

He took a quick glance up at the clock to see it was seven o'clock now. He began to buckle down to get the necessary paperwork for the Hokage done quickly as possible. He began working his way through toughest workload first as he made sure his grammar was correct. His brushstrokes were going fast, but it left no errors behind due to him learning Fuinjutsu.

As an hour passed by as Naruto's neatly stacked up his work. He saw the Hokage come through the door wearing his robes and his hat. "Ah, I didn't expect you here so early Naruto-kun, I thought you would be heading off to the academy at this time." Sarutobi told him.

Naruto nodded knowing this fact already. "Well your secretary is out on vacation for quite some time. It's only a exam review week for the exam's coming soon." Naruto reminded the old man.

Sarutobi chuckled as he went through the stack of completed paperwork to see everything was correct. He sighed in relieve. _"Thank goodness Naruto volunteered to be the stand-in for my secretary. I would have to deal with the mountains of paperwork all by myself. I should have recruited someone that worked with Fuinjutsu a long time ago as a secretary. They tend to write the fast and legible, than normal people."_ Sarutobi thought.

He picked up the folder with reports with red on them. "It looks like that time is coming around again. I will have to assemble the Academy teacher's again for a meeting." Sarutobi happily told them.

"By the way jiji, what happens after we graduate from the Academy?" Naruto curiously asked him.

Sarutobi chuckled as he patted Naruto's head. "You will have to wait and see Naruto-kun. For now I think you should head to the Academy as soon as you're done here." He advised as he the Hiruzen recalled something now. "By the way how are you handling your landlord responsibilities?" Sarutobi asked him.

Naruto looked down on the desk to see his huge pouch sitting there. The pouch had a leather sheathe connected to the side of the belt to help keep the wooden sword secured. He reached into his pouch as he pulled out a small notebook.

He flipped over the pages for a moment to check his records. "Well everyone is doing fine at the moment at the apartment complex jiji. I don't charge insane fees or press people for money when they can't pay. Every mechanical and electrical device are in working order. I recently upgraded the plumbing, and the new AC units' so everyone can live comfortably." Naruto explained as he handed the book over to the Hokage.

Sarutobi looked over the notebook for a moment to check if the information was correct. "Are you correlating your efforts with the tax department to ensure your no errors."

Naruto nodded as he turned to a page inside the book. "Sure, but I have a question though?" Naruto asked him.

"Go ahead." Naruto told him.

"Since I don't pay actual rent right now. When I become a genin will the payments to it will stop, don't they?" Naruto asked him.

Sarutobi nodded. "Of course, the welfare checks will cease the moment you graduate the Academy. Then you will need to pay your rent yourself afterwards. Luckily, I know you have been saving up your money for the past five years. You will not run into money troubles any time soon. Naruto, the problem you might be faced with is the fact now is the lack of time. Your duties as a ninja will conflict with the schedule of being a landlord."

Naruto nodded. "I might as well hand over the position to Anzu-san then." Naruto told him as he looked at the clock.

"Hurry and head out to the Academy now, Naruto-kun, I can handle this now. Even if it's a review day, Iruka would hunt you down to make sure you are prepared for the test. I will write you a note to ensure you don't catch another lecture from Iruka." Sarutobi chuckled as Naruto scratched the back of his head.

Naruto looked down at his paperwork. "Well at least let me file the rest of the papers for you so you can enjoy some time to yourself. It will only take me fifteen minutes to do and redo your schedule." Naruto told him as Sarutobi chuckled.

"Sure be sure to visit me, once you are done?" Sarutobi reminded him as Naruto raised up a hand.

"Jiji, do you know of any clone jutsu that can actually interact with the environment? I can't access the archives right now, since I am not a genin, yet." Naruto asked him.

Hiruzen thought about it for a moment. "Why would you need a jutsu like that?" He asked.

Naruto scratched his head for a moment. "Well what happens if I have something important to do, but I am stuck doing something else. Wouldn't that clone be able to take care of the thing for me in my stead?" Naruto guessed as Hiruzen eyes flickered for a moment.

He palmed his face and sighed. _"I am so stupid… I could have been using the Kage Bunshin no jutsu to do my paper work for me all this time."_ The old hokage thought.

Hiruzen decided to speak up now.. "I am afraid normal clones or elemental clones in nature would be no good to the user Naruto-kun. They have a limited range and they tend to create a mess if they were ever destroyed. Though there is a technique out there it's rated as forbidden due to it's requirements." Sarutobi answered as Naruto frowned.

"Damn…" he muttered. "I was hoping it could help make me some seals on the side, while I relax."

Sarutobi chuckled as he nodded. _"It seems he is getting smarter and smarter each day. He is still unpredictable in his own way, but I hope this meeting with the Academy teachers' will go smoothly this time of the year again."_ Sarutobi thought.

.x.

Naruto was a running at a good pace towards the Academy as he made it through the door. He knew everyone else was in class still by now. He quickly made his way to his classroom and straighten up his clothes. He gave a few loud knocks to the Iruka's door.

"Come in!" Iruka's voice called out.

As Naruto opened the door and poked his waved hello. "Good morning Iruka-sensei! Sorry I am late." Naruto greeted the man.

He saw Iruka was a bit frustrated. "Glad you can join us Naruto, and you can tell me why are you so late to class?" Iruka asked him.

Naruto closed the door behind him as he pulled out a note. "I volunteered to be the Hokage's secretary for the week." Naruto handed his note to Iruka to see. As the man took a good look at it to see it was real.

Iruka nodded. "Fine, I can see it's a valid excuse, so please take your seat now." Iruka demanded.

Naruto made his way up the stairs to the top to his seat. He saw Yakumo sitting down in her usual seat. She had drastically changed from over the past 5 years. She was not the frail little girl he knew anymore. She wore her hair long now in a low ponytail. She wore a burgundy kimono with long sleeves that had floral prints across it. Underneath she wore a mesh shirt, that meshed well with her black shorts that matched his sandals.

She was definitely prettier than the other girls in class that made the other girls jealous. She didn't go on a diet at all like them at all too. She didn't dress up to impress Sasuke, but focused on a goal to be a Kunoichi. She sat next to Choji and Shikamaru on the row. He sat down on the end of the row now. Naruto slipped Choji some potato chip bags' from his pouch.

"Thanks Naruto," He thanked the blonde. "I was getting hungry sitting up here listening to Iruka's lecture."

Naruto waved it off. "Don't worry about, did I miss anything special?" Naruto asked them.

Yakumo quickly answered him. "Not much, but Iruka is going over what the exam will be."

Shikamaru lifted his head up from the desk. "I just don't see why we should review this stuff." Shikamaru muttered.

Yakumo spoke up to Shikamaru. "Even if you aren't going to put up the effort Shikamaru your mother will lecture you to no end if you failed the Academy." She reminded him as the boy sighed.

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Troublesome, but I do see your point Yakumo. Hearing her yell at me is the last thing I would want now. Though Naruto and you have been pushing your efforts onto me for the past 5 years." Shikamaru muttered in annoyance.

"And because of that you are sitting at the dead last in the Academy. It even got your mother to back off a few more times." Naruto pointed out as Shikamaru sighed.

"Troublesome, but true I she hasn't complained to me about class at least other than sleeping." Shikamaru reluctantly agreed.

"The only ones sitting in the back of the class now would be Choji and Kiba from my observation." Yakumo noted

"While you are going for top kunoichi of the class, Yakumo. The only competition you have is Sakura, Ino, and possibly Hinata." Choji pointed out.

Yakumo frowned. "Hinata is one thing, she can easily be at the top of the class if she had more confidence in her ability. I wouldn't even call Sakura a kunoichi in training even if I was crazy. Ino on the other hand has a shinobi lineage backing her up, otherwise she would be just as bad as Sakura." Yakumo muttered in annoyance.

"What do you mean by that?" Choji asked her.

Yakumo pointed over to Sakura who sitting by Sasuke as the other girls stared at her. "Simple she thinks studying alone would make her a good ninja. She is avoiding all the physical trials of being a shinobi and focus solely on her looks alone. Once she realizes that the books she reads isn't like the world we are living in. She will crack or adapt to the situation." Yakumo lectured them.

Shikamaru sighed. "True, but it's not like the academy life would define our roles in life. Sometimes you should go with the flow rather than fight it." Shikamaru pointed out.

"True, I just don't see the point in caring being number one in the class. When we finally graduate the rules do change. I don't see why Sasuke is shooting for 'Rookie of the Year' spot." Naruto added.

Shikamaru nodded. "True, he has changed a lot since the massacre of his entire clan. Heck even you somewhat with Shisui's death, but you changed for the better at least. Sasuke forms a quick opinion on people rather than getting to know them. If you are weak in some way or annoying he ignores them. In Naruto's and Yakumo's case, he considers you a both of challenge. I would rate this a troublesome factor to go by. Whoever works with him in the field would be hindered greatly. Arrogance can only go so far and I bet someone will address the problem sooner rather than later." Shikamaru explained.

Naruto saw an eraser fly towards Shikamaru as it hit him and bounced off his head. "Shikamaru sit up and pay attention!" Iruka shouted.

Naruto picked up and threw the eraser back to Iruka. "Sorry Iruka-sensei." Shikamaru quickly apologized as he stood straight up now.

Iruka sighed as he shook his head. "Since you have a hard time sitting up in class, I guess we can skip the lecture and go do some Taijutsu sparring then. Then we will review all ninjutsu, and written portion later in the afternoon." Iruka suggested as some people complained. Iruka ordered them all outside to get out the seats for training.

"Way to go Shikamaru." Someone complained as Shikamaru shrugged.

.x.

The school day ended as the bell rang as Iruka stopped them all before they left. "Before you go I have your report cards for the end of the term for you. It shows your placement in class by grades overall during the year. Also the exam is next week so prepare yourself. I will explain this to you all carefully in steps on how the test will be taken." Iruka carefully explained the exam layout to the whole class. As the secondary teacher Mizuki passed out the reports to the class.

He flicked them out like shurikens to the class as everyone was catching theirs with ease. "Iruka-sensei, who is the rookie of the year?" someone a boy with brown hair called out.

"It will be on the board at the entrance of the school." He announced as he saw a majority rushing out of the classroom to see.

As only very few kids such as Shino, Hinata, and Sasuke went a normal pace. Naruto's group got up slowly to collect their things. "Hey Shikamaru, who do you think made Rookie of the year?" Choji asked him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well I would normally say I didn't care about such a thing. I have an idea who it is." Shikamaru told them.

Sasuke walked by them with a nod. "It would be me, becoming the 'Rookie of the year'. Since you the rest of you are layabouts." Sasuke told them as Yakumo frowned.

"I can't just see why the girls' in the class still like you so much about you. You are arrogant and rude person with no real knowledge of how the shinobi world works. Being rookie of the year doesn't mean anything once we graduate." Yakumo pointed out to Sasuke.

"That would be something a loser would say Yakumo. I thank the fact you aren't like those annoying girls who pretend to be ninja that chase me constantly. Besides you, only Hinata cares about being a kunoichi at all. So I will give you that seeing you are top girl in the class." Sasuke admitted.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered. "There is no way you could be the rookie of the year, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at him as he quickly asked Shikamaru. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well it's quite obvious who it is, I bet even Shino picked up on who is number one in the class by now." Shikamaru told him.

Sasuke turned to boy wearing sunglasses. "Shino, do you know who it is? Sasuke he asked him.

Shino nodded. "It wouldn't be you or me by the long shot, Sasuke-san." Shino told them as they paced together towards the entrance.

"Why is that?" Choji asked him as he snacked on some food.

"Number one, between all of us here our scores vary in areas. Sakura has the top written score among all of us. Yakumo has the best genjutsu scores, Taijutsu overall is closely matched between many people, and along with other scores." Shino explained further to them.

"So how is it decided who makes 'Rookie of the Year'?" Naruto asked him.

They saw a huge crowd of students at the doorway with parents. They heard a screams amongst the girls.

"That is not possible, how is Sasuke not rookie of the year!" Someone shouted as Sasuke looked ahead in shock.

"What?" the Uchiha muttered.

The group looked at the top of the board to see a familiar name above the rest.

 _Naruto Uzumaki_

Naruto looked up in shock. "I am the rookie of the year?" he muttered. As he turned towards Shino to ask him. "How is that possible I didn't do anything special, Shino?"

Shino nodded as he pointed towards the end of the graded areas. "Not quite true at all, Naruto-san, Sasuke and I have rather poor teamwork in general. In all the teamwork exercises we have been placed under, you scored the highest as well in the physical exercise tests." Shino told him.

"Teamwork, he scored that high on in teamwork?" Sasuke muttered in disdain.

Shino nodded as he turned towards Sasuke. "You have to remember you hate working with people or listening to them in general. If you don't hold any respect you wouldn't give them the time and day. Above all else unlike everyone else in class Naruto doesn't race forward without his teammates. It reflects well with the fact he has managed to keep Choji motivated along with Shikamaru." Shino explained.

"Naruto, had to been cheating this whole time!" someone shouted as eyes turned to him.

Yakumo clapped her hands together making the Snake and rat hand seals. _"Yin Release: Demonic Illusion."_ As a wave of imaginary leaves rushed over the group of girls. As they soon heard screams shouting through the air as Shikamaru covered his ears.

"What the hell was that for?" Shikamaru shouted. He quickly made his way out the building. As Choji, Naruto, and Yakumo followed suit.

"The last thing we need is the fact they are shouting and accusing Naruto of cheating." Yakumo told him.

They noticed Shino, Hinata, and Sasuke making strides out the building as well Yakumo saw Sasuke was angry from the event all together.

"It looks like hotshot over there is angry at you for being 'Rookie of the Year', Naruto-kun." She pointed out.

Shino caught up to Naruto. "Congratulations on making Rookie of the Year," He told him.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Thank you, but even you could have been Rookie of the Year if you tried harder." Naruto told him.

Shino nodded. "Not quite, many people are put off by the allies I carry around. Well except for a few people like you all." Shino explained.

The group heard barking coming from the group behind them. As they Kiba and Akamaru coming up to them. "So you're the Rookie of the Year eh, Naruto? I wouldn't have expected, but at least you on course for your dream." Kiba told him.

"True, but we still need to graduate still tomorrow," Naruto reminded him as Yakumo smirked.

"I wonder what your mother would say for the fact you made a worse grade then Shikamaru. We had to convince Choji and Shikamaru to come up from the bottom." Yakumo told him as Kiba gulped.

"Classwork in general isn't my thing, besides that at least I am not dead last in class at least!" Kiba shouted as Akamaru shouted.

As the group saw their parents and siblings coming up to them. Tomorrow would be the day they would take their tests.

Hiruzen watched on crystal ball along as he nodded with a smile. "He worked hard for the position 'Rookie of the Year' rightly so. Though I would imagine the councilors would be upset that Naruto made Rookie of the Year instead of Sasuke. Stating they wanted a recount or improvement of the course system." the hokage took a puff of his pipe.

"As soon as they graduate tomorrow, I will have the Chunin's over here to help form teams. Then I will assigned them to some Jounin and Special Jounin soon after."

 **.x.**

 _(The next week)_

Naruto watched his classmates were called into the exam one at a time now. He looked up to see one of the teachers called out to him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you're up next." he called out. Naruto got up from his seat and headed into the classroom for the final exam. He was glad that he had finished the written portion of the exam already. Taijutsu and bukijutsu had been the day before, but Naruto passed them with ease. All that was left was ninjutsu exam, which he was attending now. The one he found annoying the most since he hated the bushin the most.

After the door closed behind him, Naruto saw Mizuki was taking the lead for the test. For the past couple of years Mizuki didn't like him at all like the other villagers he saw on a daily basis. "Naruto could please start this off me by showing me a henge, please?" Mizuki asked him.

Naruto nodded as he sighed. "Okay sensei." Naruto agreed as he started out showing a perfect henge of Iruka. As the man started to try to pick up the ninjutsu that he wasn't good at in the academy. He was lucky they didn't have a full genjutsu course or otherwise he would be screwed by now. He finally got to the bushin jutsu.

"Now I want you to generate three bunshins and no more." he told him as Naruto grunted.

" _Making a small quantity of bunshins' has always been the hardest part for me. I always forced to make ten or more to create one."_ Naruto muttered.

He slammed his hands together as he focused his chakra for a moment. "Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as smoke covered his body. He looked over to his side to see three standing bunshins' who sat perfectly still beside him.

Naruto sighed in relief, he had thanked Shisui-san for forcing him to train to make three bunshins in the future. Iruka stood proudly up and handed Naruto his headband. "Congratulations on making it to genin, Naruto. Be here back at the academy in a week's time from now. But before that you should register yourself at the Hokage tower. Be sure to dress nicely they will take a photo of you for your file." Iruka happily told him as Naruto smiled so happily.

It took only a few minutes as Naruto walked outside to see family members alike were congratulating as he caught sight of his friends talking to his parents. He saw the Hokage was there watching over the crowd as he waved to him.

"Hey Jiji, I didn't expect you to be here!" Naruto shouted as the old man chuckled.

"Congratulations on making rookie of the year, Naruto-kun. I just came down to see the graduates that made it. And I came to give you something that was long overdue. It belonged to Shisui, but it was meant as a graduation gift." The hokage explained catching him off guard.

"Shisui left me a graduation gift?" Naruto curiously asked him. The Hokage produce a piece of paper with a note on it as well a seal on the back.

" _Dear Naruto,_

 _This is from your awesome senpai Shisui and congrats on becoming a ninja. Hopefully you would show up Sasuke in becoming the Rookie of the Year. That would really tell him that he is a bad brother and I am superior teacher. If you are wondering why I gave a wooden sword to practice with. This would help you control such a wonderful sword I commissioned for you. It's a sword that was made to reflect a samurai look overall, but it's a chakra sword overall._

 _It's composed of chakra metal, the metal that helps absorbs the user's chakra. It was designed by a blacksmith who originated from Iron country and settled in River Country. This sword complements the Chakra Sabre technique I gave you years ago._

 _Hey Naruto, if I am not even their physically, I will be their spiritually for you. No matter if I am not there personally or in the afterlife. I don't want to see you crying at all for me, okay. Please use the sword to help protect your friends in need as well the innocent._

 _P.S. I also ordered a sword with a white wood Shirasaya (a katana without a guard) for more covert operations. It's also a chakra metal sword, but you will need to gather more skill to use it since it has no guard._

 _With love,_

 _Shisui"_

Naruto couldn't find the words to say anything as he smiled. He unsealed the piece of paper as he caught two sheaths in hand. He quickly noticed one almost looked a wooden sword, but it had slit down the side of it. He inspected that sword to see it had a beautiful white surface he could see his face off it with ease. But the other sword in nature was the one that caught his attention the most.

The sword seemed to gleam in the sun. The handle was oval in shape, the wrapping around the hilt was braided in red orange and black. On the underside of the hilt was a golden dragon of hilt giving it a more a samurai design.

The scabbard was black, made of traditional lacquered wood, and features several metallic ornaments on its far end. It had the Kanji of Will of Fire on the sheath edge as Naruto admired it. The red-orange sageo swayed gently in the air as he unsheathed the blade. Naruto saw it had a polished surface reflecting its surface just like the other one.

"They are both beautiful." Naruto muttered.

The hokage nodded. "True, they are very beautiful, but also very dangerous to wield. You will need a whetstone and a sword polishing kit to help take care of them." Sarutobi explained as Naruto replaced his wooden sword from his belt as he placed the Shirasaya sword at his waist. He also clipped the other sword to his waist as he sealed as he quickly sealed away Shisui letter and his practice sword in his scroll.

"I will be careful with them jiji, I promise." Naruto promised as Sarutobi then produced a letter to him.

"Also this is also a note from Orphan funding, they have finally cut off payments from here on out. As well a gift from me that depicts your mother." Sarutobi told him as he saw Naruto freeze up in look at him.

"My mother, what was she like? What was my dad like?" Naruto asked him

Sarutobi gave a picture to Naruto showing a red haired woman with violet eyes. She had a gentle smile on her face as she wore a jounin outfit. Her long red hair was tied into a ponytail. "Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, she was nicknamed the Red Hot blooded Habanero by academy students since she angrily beat academy students down as well genin when she was in the Academy. Overall the nickname her enemies gave her was Red Death." Sarutobi explained.

Naruto smirked hearing that. "I bet she was awesome!" He shouted happily as Sarutobi explained.

"True, she had exceptional skill as jounin, but overall she was complimented for unique ninjutsu style. She was kindest person you ever known, but she headstrong, stubborn, eccentric, and impulsive. But she really loved you along with your father, but the Kyubi attack happened. They died defending you with all their strength." Sarutobi told him.

"What about my dad?" Naruto quickly asked him.

Sarutobi sighed. "As much as I want to answer your questions Naruto, they are classified for a reason. Your mother had a kidnapped attempt on her years before by Kumo. She and your father had made a lot of enemies and telling you right now could place you in danger. Though there will be a time I will tell you everything about them." Sarutobi explained as Naruto nodded.

"Then can I see my mother's things then?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi sighed.

"Not quite everything the councilors in general don't think it's a good idea, yet. But if you make Chunin come to see me okay. The techniques in general are highly dangerous for any genin to handle without supervision. Plus I am not approved of giving everything out to you, yet."

"Wait, you're the Hokage, why not?" Naruto asked him.

The old man took a puff of his pipe. "True, but we have process of handling political things and I almost overstepped my boundaries. Even if you will become Hokage you will still need to deal with the Councilors as well other clan members. Overall if you can't keep them happy you don't stay as Hokage very long. Just look at the situation over in Kirigakure, the Yondaime Mizukage approved of a bloodline purge. The problem he is facing a rebellion in nature." Sarutobi explained as Naruto nodded.

"I understand," Naruto told him as he looked at his photo. He quickly sealed it away in a scroll for safe keeping.

"Be sure to dress properly and register at the admission department before you convene at the academy again." Sarutobi explained as Naruto nodded running off.

Naruto made it past the crowd with ease as he saw his friends were long gone by now with their family.

"It seems like they have private events going on tonight, it must be some ritual they have or something." Naruto muttered.

"Hey Mr. Rookie of the Year, I see you got some nice swords from a graduation, gift?" a voice called out.

Naruto turned around to see Mizuki was there holding a scroll. "Mizuki-sensei, do you need something?" Naruto asked him.

"No, but I came to congratulate you on graduating the Academy as well give some good news to you. I have a note of recommendation from the barrier team for you." Mizuki pointed out.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You mean the barrier team that maintains the barriers' around Konoha that detects intruders." Naruto asked him excitedly as Mizuki tossed him a scroll.

"Correct, and they have heard about your studies into sealing from Iruka over the years.. Though there is a test itself to find a scroll they hid inside the Hokage's tower." Mizuki explained as he motioned Naruto to walk with him.

He looked over the scroll's contents as he noticed the writing in nature did seem legitimate as it had the barrier teams special stamp over it. "Find the scroll, unseal it without a problem, and then bring it to their destination spot. That doesn't sound too hard at all." Naruto muttered.

Mizuki nodded. "True, but if you are going to do it you will need to keep quiet about it until you succeed in your mission okay. No one wants to trust a shinobi who can't keep a simple secret." Mizuki told him.

Naruto nodded. "Okay, but I will need to prepare for this then. Thanks and see you later Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto shouted happily as Mizuki smirked.

" _Thank goodness I took the time to swipe an official scroll from Izumo and Kotetsu. Since they are part of the barrier team itself it made it all the easier to trick the demon. He will be in for a rude awakening if their is a security seal is placed on it. If there isn't one at all, if he tried to perform a jutsu inside the scroll. He would mostly die due to it's requirements. If he pulls it off without a hitch and without anyone noticing it would make it all the sweeter. No supposed rookie of the year who have the skill to beat me in terms of combat skill. I can kill him for betraying the village or run out with the scroll. Either way it's a win-win situation."_ Mizuki thought.

He soon dashed off towards his house in preparation of this event.As the Hokage stood in the shadows of the Academy as he watched the school teacher run off. He felt a presence behind him now as he took a puff of his pipe.

He looked over to a man wearing a Cat mask with green marking on it. "Cat, what did Mizuki give Naruto moments ago?" Sarutobi asked him.

"He showed Naruto a scroll of approval of a mission from the barrier team. It had all the official writing and stamp on it for approval. Yet I believe they start recruiting members if they have a sufficient seal level, but it has to go through you still." Cat pointed out.

"True and I didn't approve of such a thing." Hiruzen told him.

"You want me stop Naruto-kun from trying to take the scroll or grab Mizuki?" Cat asked him.

Sarutobi nodded. "Not yet, we will need to catch him in the act first so he can't lie to us. Ever since he was sent on a mission to retrieve a document he has become estranged. Besides that we will need to see if our security system needs an actual update. An academy student shouldn't be able to breeze by it, but if he can do it. That means our whole system is compromised in a way." Sarutobi explained.

"Sound logical Hokage-sama, but should we switch the scroll out just in case?" Cat recommended

As Sarutobi nodded. "Go ahead with the switch, but make sure something what is written down is hard for him to decipher. Overall let's see if Naruto can deal with the problem alone first before jumping in Cat."

Cat nodded. "You plan throwing him into fire already aren't you. Not many genin get such a chance to fight a shinobi off the bat." Cat pointed out.

"If Naruto can't handle this I will understand due to his inexperience, but overall the older generation must make preparations to see if they can handle the task of being a shinobi." Sarutobi explained to Cat. Cat nodded in agreeance before he vanished with a trace.

.x.

 _(Hours later)_

Naruto smirked as he carried a giant scroll on his back as he held his shirasaya on his hip. He had a clock placed over his body to hide his appearance as he suppressed his chakra.

" _It was easy slipping by the defenses of the tower. A little misdirection and a couple of pranks going off pulled them away from their posts. Then I made sure to turn off the power at the substation to help avoid cameras. Then I double checked to make sure I didn't run into seals or the guards. I was lucky to have a recipe down for sleeping powder. A low wind gust from my gale palm with the powder knocked them out with ease._ " Naruto thought.

He made sure to avoid the anbu patrol routes by taking less traveled roads. He breezed through the gate with ease without detection. As he took the trees with ease by jumping through them smiling..

Cat watched the scene from a high building with a stop watch. "Well I would be damned he pulled off quicker than I expected. Despite him wearing a dark orange color under his cloak he pulled it off smoothly. It seems his pranking attempts over the years has really helped his stealth skills. Plus he actually suppress his chakra to ensure sensor's can't track him down with ease. Since he contains the Kyuubi that feat takes considerable training to do." Cat muttered as he heard the alarm go off. "I might as well get in position before Mizuki arrives."

Cat disappeared with a blur as several chunin and jounin throughout the village scrambled to the Hokage's tower.

It took a mere minutes for everyone to be deployed to find Naruto as Naruto finally made it to his destination without leaving in any tracks on anything. Naruto landed near a shack area and landed safely. He placed his hands together with a ram seal as he generated chakra out from his body like a pulse. It pulsed a good 400 meters away and nodded in satisfaction.

" _The jutsu Iruka-sensei taught me really works."_ Naruto thought.

.x.

 _(Flash Back)_

 _Naruto sighed as he looked at his report he was given as he was told to research Sensory jutsu. But the problem he ran into was the fact he didn't know much about any of them. The Hyuga had their bloodline ability, Aburame's had their insects, and the Inuzuka had their dogs._

 _He walked up to Iruka's desk as the man worked on grades. As everyone else was leaving the class to go home or study._

" _Iruka-sensei, do you know of any other way to sense people?" Naruto asked him._

 _The man looked up from his seat. "Are you confused on something, Naruto?" Iruka asked him._

 _Naruto nodded. "I only know about how clans can use their unique ability to sense with. There is nothing in the book about it anywhere and the shinobi library is closed to academy students." Naruto explained._

 _Iruka nodded. "I see you managed to draw the unlucky report about sensory ninja along with their jutsu. It's hard concept to follow even for clan children due to the amount of requirements to sense people." Iruka explained._

" _I know the job was developed due to need of it during The first two great shinobi wars since sealing techniques were dangerous." Naruto told Iruka as he nodded._

" _True, but to understand your report you will need to fine tune your senses as well your chakra. Do you know how to suppress your chakra, Naruto?" Iruka asked him as Naruto nodded. "Good you have a keen understanding on how to feel it then. Now the jutsu I am going to teach you Chakra Hyouteii (Chakra echolocation). This jutsu doesn't need any hand seals to perform, but for you it will be needed. Use the ram seal and then begin to send a pulse of chakra." Iruka explained._

 _Naruto did so as he felt a pulse of chakra as he scratched his head. "That felt funny, it's like I couldn't feel anything, but you."_ Iruka told him as Iruka chuckled.

" _Oh I almost forgot the more objects you encounter the more difficult it will be to use it properly. First time users are encouraged to use this technique outdoors in a open space. Then keep using to help identify things making it easier to use. Then move on to using indoors to get a feel for it for storming fortresses." Iruka lectured Naruto._

" _Then who developed the technique?" Naruto asked._

 _Iruka scratched his head for a moment. "Actually it was the Uzumaki's that developed that technique in general. It was used to sense the enemy from afar and due to their great reserves they can waste chakra. Then this technique saw more use with the Senju clan as well. Overall the technique was made in a cave to mimic a bat."_ Iruka explained.

 _Naruto nodded. "So my clan made that technique to help place seal traps? I can see why they would do such a thing. Missing a target using seals is very fatal." Naruto pointed out._

 _Iruka nodded. "Since you learned the technique be sure to practice sparingly. I don't want you falling unconscious or running into things. Be sure to have this report to me by monday Naruto. This paper is based on your knowledge and understanding of the sensory ninjutsu." Iruka told as Naruto nodded. "Before I almost forget the jutsu itself can be used underwater, but it's even harder to use."_

 _Naruto started writing down short notes on the jutsu with Iruka along with lecture. "I will be sure to keep a record of it." Naruto happily told him._

 _(Flashback ended)_

.x.

"By the way, what happened back there? Why did the alarm suddenly turned on so soon? I thought I would have at least a good hour before anyone noticed something was wrong." Naruto muttered.

He took the scroll of his back to check it as he noticed the seal was easy to break. He didn't even feel any chakra coming from the scroll as he unraveled it. He quickly noticed the words on inside it.

" _Congrats on taking the scroll, but you will need to have more skill than that if you want to join the Barrier Team in the future. Infiltration skills are a needed skill for the intelligence department not the barrier team.."_

Naruto gaped at it as he turned his head in annoyance. "So this was all a prank! I am not going to be invited on the Barrier Team dattebayo!" Naruto shouted as he quickly quieted down.

A good a mile off was Cat giving a silent chuckle in a tree as he pulsed out his chakra searching for any person. He noticed Mizuki was heading this way as he saw the man standing there above the tree.

Naruto heard a buzzing sound coming from above as Naruto quickly flicked his sword from his sheath. He deflected a Fuma Shuriken away into a tree as he he quickly looked up to see Iruka.

"Good senses, I thought I would get you in one go." Mizuki told him.

"What is the meaning of this, Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto asked him. "You asked me to steal this scroll and then this. The alarm shouldn't have gone off so soon." Naruto pointed out as Mizuki shrugged.

"Well it looks like you figured things out already, little monster. I should have sabotaged you more in school. Keeping you dum would have been better outcome. Now I have to get my hands a little dirty, hand over the scroll or die Naruto.

Naruto sighed as he thought about it. _"Wait a minute, did someone already switch out the real scroll he wanted me to steal. If that is so, that means he wanted to use me to steal it so he can make a clean getaway as well kill me. I just thought he was prick of teacher, but now I see his true colors."_ Naruto thought.

He slipped a paper note from his bag inside the scroll. He quickly tossed on the ground. "Get it yourself?" Naruto told him as Mizuki sneered.

"I thought you were smart, but you are really are dumb, Naruto. What is going to stop me from killing you?" Mizuki told him as he threw shuriken down at him. Hit him square center in the chest as Naruto's eyes looked shocked as he tried dodging.

Mizuki smiled as a puffing sound went off as he saw a log took Naruto's place. "Shit a seal less Kawarimi!" Mizuki shouted.

Several shuriken flew through the trees towards Mizuki as he jumped down ground level to pick up the scroll. "Even if I don't kill you I will have a cover story if I retrieve the scroll! Your days as a ninja are over with!" He shouted

Mizuki picked up the scroll as he heard a fizzing sound and light come from the scroll. _"Explosive note!"_ Mizuki thought. He tossed as a loud explosion went off in front of him knocking him back.

It blinded him for a bit as he looked at the corner of his eye to see. He saw a kunai rain down on him as he dodged out the way. As a puff of smoke appeared before him shocking him as Naruto stood there. As the boy smirked scaring the Chunin from transformation

"Gotcha!" Naruto shouted as he slashed at his chest as Mizuki back peddled away. He saw blood coming from his chest as Naruto flicked his blade clean from the blood. "A well placed jump and transformation jutsu makes people tend to dodge to the side with minimal effort. You gave me the opening I needed to make a cut."

Mizuki gasped looking at his chest. "What the hell is going on here? I am suppose to be beating you!" Mizuki shouted.

Naruto nodded. "On paper yes, but you have been out of practice so long being a teacher. Give up and I will take mercy on you." Naruto told him as he readied his stance with his sword.

Mizuki shrugged. "Did you ever wonder people everyone hates you? Everyone in the village knows about it, but you." He told Naruto.

Naruto snarled at him. "I don't care about that! I know for a fact I have friends that care for me and a mother that wanted me to live above all else. By the way why would I listen to the words of traitor like you." Naruto shouted at him. He noticed the look in Naruto's eyes were focused.

Mizuki flicked out a kunai from his sheath to attack Naruto. The two exchanged blows with their weapons as sparks lit up the dark sky as Cat watched on with interest.

" _He is doing better than expected and he stopped Mizuki from revealing the secret._ _I wonder how he is going to finish this."_ Cat wondered.

The two clashed blades together as Mizuki was struggling keeping up with him. As he breathed hard as he tried punching Naruto who blocked it with his free hand. He stared angrily at him as Naruto then smirked. He added chakra to his blade as it extended further as it glowed bright blue. The blade's edge was shearing through the kunai with ease as Mizuki jumped in the nick of time. he ran through a couple of seals as Naruto looked went through his own seals.

" _Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!_

" _Suiton: Mizurappa!"_

The two prepared their attacks and shot it towards each other as giant explosion of mist erupted covered the area.. Mizuki looked at the corner of his eyes to see Naruto coming at him with his sword. He quickly grabbed his Fuma Shuriken jutsu off the back off his back. He tossed it towards Naruto with a smirk.

"Gotcha you little monster!" he shouted. As the shuriken cut into it as he saw vanish before his eyes as the cloak cut into pieces. "Bunshin…"

Mizuki gaped as as he soon screamed out in pain as he found the back of his legs cut out from beneath him. "I may hate the bushin no jutsu, but overall placing a cloak over it does give it a shadow it lacks. It's over Mizuki-se… I mean traitor. I cut out your leg muscles from the back so you can' run away now." Naruto told him as Mizuki grunted in pain.

He slammed his fist on the ground in pain as he looked up angrily at Naruto. "Damn you." He muttered as he Naruto shrugged it off cleaning off his sword.

"You only have yourself to blame for this outcome, but I should have ran this scroll by the old man first." Naruto told him as he sheathed his sword.

Naruto heard someone landing behind as he turned to see Anbu. Cat was giving a slow clap to Naruto. "Not bad for your first time fighting a shinobi, Naruto-kun." Cat congratulated him.

Naruto sweating bullets as he looked at him. "I am in trouble… am I." Naruto muttered.

Cat nodded as he knocked out Mizuki as he tended to his wounds. "Not quite Naruto-kun, but Mizuki has been monitored for quite some time. He has been acting rather odd lately and his girlfriend Tsubaki reported this to us." Cat announced as he turned towards Naruto. "Can I see the scroll he gave you?"

Naruto nodded pulling out the scroll. "Sure." Naruto replied as Cat looked at it.

He nodded and looked at him. "I can see why you are confused all the documentation is correct. Mizuki made sure to double check his information and secure this scroll from the barrier team members covertly to trick you." Cat told him.

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance. "I am glad that I got to beat him up then." Naruto shouted. "I thought I was heading off to one of those divisions for training."

Cat chuckled as he stood up patting his head. "True you do have a knack for seals and a good detection jutsu you gained from Iruka. I believe your Chakra Hyouteii no jutsu (Chakra echolocation) needs some work. It can only go off a quarter of a mile. Plus the heavily wooded area makes it harder for you since trees are alive." Cat told him as he soon picked up Mizuki off the ground. "Naruto be sure to head off towards the tower and meet with the Hokage. He will talk to you personally about this ordeal."

Naruto nodded reluctantly. "I am going to receive a lecture for this am I…" Naruto muttered as Cat disappeared before him.

Naruto looked around in the area first. "I met as well recover that bastard's Fuma Shuriken, while I still have time. They are a bit more pricier than those regular shuriken." Naruto muttered as he raced off to find them.

.x.

Naruto sat down on his knees sweating bullets as Sarutobi sat in front of him taking a pipe. He was looking over the reports his shinobi gave him. As the answers were that were given were unsettling as he sat down lecturing Naruto for the first fifteen minutes. Though he decided to let him sweat it out a bit until he read the reports to make a decision. Though he watched the fight earlier with Mizuki and Naruto with ease.

" _It seems Orochimaru is getting his claws into our village again, he convinced Mizuki to take the effort of trying to steal the Scroll of Sealing. This is very troublesome indeed, also Naruto bypassed our defenses with ease so we have been slacking around quite a bit. That means we will need to do a security update for everything in the village. Though he took down Mizuki one on one during this last night."_ Sarutobi thought as he stared at Naruto.

"I have made my decision now." Sarutobi announced to him as Naruto gulped.

"And your decision is?" Naruto worriedly asked him.

"You will not be punished Naruto, since you were following orders of an instructor as well trying to fulfill the mission provided on a scroll. Thankfully we have been keeping our eyes on him for quite some time and we made sure to switch with the scroll out in time. Overall your fake mission have last night has shown us that our security in the village is lacking severely. Plus you single handily took down Mizuki single handily last night making sure we can interrogate him." Sarutobi explained to him.

"So I am free to go?" Naruto asked him.

Sarutobi nodded. "You can, but I think we will need to update your mission profile soon as you register in a couple of days. You will have a completed B-rank on your profile, but you will not be paid until you registered properly, Naruto-kun. So hold onto to this slip of paper and do not lose it. You will need to hand that at the payment desk." Sarutobi told him as he handed the slip of paper to him.

Naruto looked over the amount itself 80,000 ryo on it as he quickly opened up his wallet and slip the note in. He placed inside his pouch.

"I will register by tomorrow then! But what time does it open?" Naruto told him as Sarutobi checked his paperwork.

"The cameraman will only be here eight to twelve o'clock in the morning. But overall dress nice and groom yourself Naruto. No one wants to hire a ninja dressed unprofessionally at all." Sarutobi lectured him as Naruto nodded.

Naruto gave his goodbye as he headed out the office tired as he yawned. He quickly dashed home to get into bed. As he passed by Iruka with ease as the man waved hello only to be ignored. Though he saw Naruto was quite tired. Iruka gave a knock to the Hokage's door before coming in.

"You wanted to see me Lord Hokage?" Iruka asked him as Sarutobi nodded.

"Of course, and I want to see all the graduates information so we can decided on how to balance the teams?" Sarutobi explained as Iruka nodded pulling out his notes.

"Soon we start with the ones with skills that stick out first?" Iruka nodded.

Sarutobi nodded. "Go ahead, but don't discount some of your students, Iruka. They all have their strengths and weaknesses." he reminded the instructor.

Iruka nodded. "I have few that tend to stand out in class already, some of them might have hidden potential." Iruka noted as he looked through his notes.

.x.

 **Chapter is done and I want to thank Kenchi618 for his brilliance for making up the Chakra Hyouteii jutsu, well it was a skill Iruka used. I thought it would make sense Iruka would connect to Naruto more over the years compared the major troublemaker he was in canon. This Naruto is a bit more serious in the story and he will have funnier moments later in the story. This Naruto tends to act like Minato in several ways compared to Kushina.**

 **But I bet you weren't expecting someone else in the story that doesn't show up until Shippuden. He will play a major part of the story as well in his own way since his skills will be needed.**

 **Now onto something very serious I came up with a discussion with my brother.**

 **Do any of you think they played down Kakashi's skill in the beginning of the series? Because overall Kakashi is a Kage worthy candidate and then dropped to the side with ease.**

 **Well I try to iron out the problems the stories with some sensible things. I want abuse the story by using Kyubi's chakra or Kage Bunshin. Let alone downplay the Kunoichi in the story as well. I found out Kishi doesn't do any of them justice properly. Anko was his favorite character and the end of Naruto turned her into a blob. Even he liked Tenten's design and downplayed her to.**

 **Before I go on a full rant, I hope you enjoy and review.**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the concept of this alternate world I made in Fanfiction. However if I did own it I wouldn't have focused straightly onto DBZ elements like Kishimoto did. Well some of the elements was nice, but it was too much for me. I would rather watch Dragon ball to Dragon Ball Z to the cell saga and stop.

.X.

 **Ch. 5 Yamato's Inspection**

(A day passed after the fight with Mizuki)

Naruto stood outside on a balance beam in the backyard behind the apartment complex. He was going through his katas with his swords'. He was getting use to their weight and feel of them during his training. He danced along the balance beam carefully trying to not accidently cut himself. He also used his shirasaya sword as well for dual wielding practice as he channeled chakra through them. He looked down at the ground to look at the clock he set earlier on the ground to see it was 7 o'clock now. Naruto quickly sheathed his swords' as he jumped off the balance beam.

" _I just finished my early morning exercises and got some sword practice down, but I am still lacking in taijutsu department still. I only know the Academy's taijutsu and a bit of Shisui's taijutsu style from watching him years ago. Yet, I still get mixed results on taijutsu sparring days when they are allowed to use their personal taijutsu. Sasuke over the years had improved greatly due to his anti-social attitude. He dedicated himself solely to training every day and he had barely any hobbies."_ Naruto thought.

Naruto began putting away his equipment in the storage shed. "I wonder if the Archives are open to me now since I became a genin now. Maybe I should ask Jiji about it after I finished ninjutsu training this afternoon. As well head to an official training grounds to see what they look like. Would I will meet someone meet from the main forces." Naruto muttered as he locked up his storage shed. He stopped himself as he remembered something.

" _Today is the day I need to take my picture for my ID?"_ Naruto thought. He dashed back towards his apartment to get ready.

He quickly scrambled to get a shower for the day before heading out again. He was lucky that he had already laid out a set of clothes for this occasion. It was thanks to a man named Kenichi Kaneko was a tailor who lived in the apartment complex for making these clothes. The man came from River Country looking for a more steady job, but he didn't have the money to run a business in Konoha.

Before he gave away the position to be a landlord to to Anzu-san due to him becoming a genin. He had helped out the man out by giving him a year's free rent paid by him. He also provided some money to help kick-start his business since he was down on his luck.

Kenichi returned his gratitude by making him some excellent clothes for him to wear instead of buying the clothes from the shops that overpriced him. It was win-win situation, but he still paid Kenichi for his services. He had a lot of money to spare since Shisui left his bank account to him.

Naruto stood in front of a mirror to check himself out to see he was okay. He wore a Anbu like vest that was dark orange in color, black pants, and black sandals. He placed his headband tightly on his head as he looked around for his pouch. He quickly tied it to middle of the back as he picked up his more detailed oriented sword.

He tied the sageo to his waist as he smiled. "Now I am looking okay, but I should give a name to my swords so I won't confuse myself later." Naruto thought as he looked at his swords' as he focused on Shirasaya sitting on a rack. "I will call you Shisui in honor of him and my samurai sword… Aka no Shi (Red death) from my mother's nickname. Still, I also need to buy a sword cleaning kit and a whetstone when I cash my check."

Naruto went through some proper lock up procedures before he ran out the apartment door and ran off into the street.

.X.

Naruto sighed in relief as he finally got his picture done, but he was happy it turned out well. He was sitting down in front of the Hokage in the Shinobi registration office of the administrative building. He had his Aka no Shi sitting down in his lap as he waited patiently for the Hokage to read through the documents he just handed him.

It had been smooth sailing for him ever since he left the apartment. He managed to fill in all the empty spaces in the document given to him by Iruka. This was his chance to make sure his profile documentations right the first go around. He was excited to get this task done and then get paid for his first B-rank so he can go shopping again soon. He soon saw the Third Hokage laid down the papers in front of him.

"Did I fill everything in correctly?" Naruto asked him.

Hiruzen chuckled. "No need to fret Naruto-kun. All the information you have written down checks out and you managed to cover all the essentials. I don't see anything needless or out of place, even in your hobbies and interests." Naruto smiled happily as Hiruzen checked his papers.

"So I can go now?" Naruto asked him as Sarutobi nodded.

"Be sure to cash in your check for your payment before you leave the tower." Sarutobi reminded him as he looked towards the door. As the door opened as a boy wearing the yellow shirt with the Konoha's symbol on it, grey shorts, a long blue scarf, and a grey helmet with a hole out of the top for a tuft of hair to stick out. He ran through the door holding a shuriken.

"Fight me old man! I am going to take the title of Hokage from you!" he shouted as made a few steps through the door. The boy tripped over his feet and slammed face first against the wooden floor. The boy cried out as he rolled against the floor. Sarutobi shifted his hat down to cover his face as Naruto stared blankly at the boy.

"You want me to remove him from the tower jiji?" Naruto asked him as he nodded no.

"His tutor will be here soon in a couple of seconds?" Sarutobi told him making Naruto turn his head in confusion.

As soon as the Hokage said that a man with a dark long sleeved shirt and dark pants showed up. He wore a headband to cover his head like a bandana as he came up behind the boy, adjusted his sunglasses on his face.

"Something tripped me…" the boy muttered as the man looked around on the floor.

"Are you okay honorable grandson?" he asked as he looked around. "Well there is nothing around here for him to trip." he pointed out.

Konohamaru glared at Naruto and pointed his finger. "You tripped me!"

A frowned crossed across Naruto's face. "Like hell I tripped you, you tripped over your own feet. Don't blame me for your lack of balance." Naruto argued.

The man with sunglasses turned to him. "Don't lay a hand on him, he is the Hokage's grandson!" he shouted as whacking sound came.

Konohamaru fell to the floor when Naruto hit him square on the head with his sheath. "Like I care, besides I am not going to let him disrespect me like that." Naruto told him as the man looked in shock.

Sarutobi sighed. "This is not looking good." Sarutobi muttered.

Naruto got up from his seat and tied his sword to his waist. He walked over to the boy and then Hokage for a moment as he nodded. "Yes, Naruto that was my grandson."

As the man turned towards Naruto. "Aren't you going to apologize to him?" the man shouted.

"I will if the Hokage asks me to, but I don't respect some kid for being his grandson. He earned my respect, not this brat." Naruto told him as the man looked frustrated. Konohamaru looked up at Naruto with a stare.

"Who are you?" Konohamaru shouted.

Naruto shook his head. "You are suppose to do introduce yourself before you ask someone's name. But since I have some manners, the name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage in the making." Naruto explained.

As the boy grunted. "My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi and that position is mine." he told him as Naruto turned to the man with sunglasses.

"Your name?" He asked him as he touched his sunglasses.

"Ebisu, I am the honorable grandson's tutor and special Jonin of Konohagakure." Ebisu introduced himself.

Sarutobi nodded. "Since we all know each other now, Ebisu can please guide Naruto to the payment desk. He needs to cash in his check for a mission he completed a day ago." Sarutobi ordered.

The man nodded. "Yes Hokage-sama, I will fulfill your order." Ebisu replied faithfully.

" _So this is the Nine-tails vessel, the one who beat Mizuki. I am surprised he had made Rookie of the year despite having people like Sasuke Uchiha in his class."_ Ebisu thought.

Sarutobi turned towards Naruto. "Be sure to not cause any trouble or tire yourself out training Naruto. You still need to show up for orientation five days from now." Sarutobi explained as Naruto nodded.

Ebisu turned towards Naruto. "Follow me to the payment desk please." He ordered as Naruto nodded. He followed the man out as Ebisu carried Konohamaru.

.X.

As a few minutes passed as Sarutobi looked up for a moment. "I see you are here Cat, good timing." Sarutobi told him as the man submerged with the floor and then reappeared in front of him. As he bowed before him.

"Lord Third, you needed me?" Cat asked the old Hokage.

"Of course, but you can remove your mask now and stand." Sarutobi ordered him.

As the man did so taking off revealing his short brown hair, and black almost shaped eyes. He wore a happuri style headband the covered his face. He stood up now before the Hokage.

"I will give you the codenamed Yamato for this task." He sternly explained.

"I am guessing this task requires me to be in the main forces, Hokage-sama." Yamato guessed as Sarutobi nodded.

"The genin graduation test has just taken place recently, but I am unable to find sensei for one team due to special requirements. I once thought of Kakashi undertaking this task, but it will throw off the balance to the teams that were created." Sarutobi explained.

Yamato nodded. "So senpai is taking another team again. This will be fourth team I believe." Yamato pointed out.

Sarutobi proudly explained. "Many of the councilors themselves has requested him to be Sasuke's sensei due to him having the sharingan. He is second place in his class, but he lacks in teamwork overall. It allowed Naruto Uzumaki to become the 'Rookie of the Year'."

Yamato nodded with a smile. "He is quite good for just being an Academy student, but I swear that sword fighting style looked like the basic kenjutsu training we employ for new Anbu members." Yamato commented as Sarutobi nodded.

"You are correct Yamato, before Itachi went rogue he taught Naruto the basic kenjutsu. Which he has practiced for the past five years. Since the Academy doesn't score them for such a thing along with Fuinjutsu, and sensory capabilities." Sarutobi explained fully.

Yamato nodded. "So I am guessing I am there to help the Kyubi in check?" Yamato guessed.

"Correct, with Kakashi's taking Sasuke under his wing, he wouldn't be able to focus on Naruto properly. We knew for many years that this day would come when I would need your help, Yamato." Sarutobi told him..

Yamato nodded. "So who are his two potential teammates?" Yamato curiously asked.

Sarutobi took out three picture files and placed them on the desk before him. Yamato quickly noticed Naruto's picture. He moved around his picture as he saw Yakumo's picture dressed in a kimono.

Hiruzen spoke about the details. "Yakumo Kurama, she is the heiress to the clan and top kunoichi of the class. She has one of the best scores in the class, but overall Sakura beats her intelligence department. What really edged her is the fact she has great physical scores due training with Naruto over the years. She specializes in the use of genjutsu and even. Right now, she can't use her kekkei genkai to her fullest potential right now."

Yamato nodded. "I worked with her parents before on a mission, they are very talented ninja, but what about the last one." Yamato asked.

"The last one is Honoka Inari, a relative of Shinko Inari a former genin that was part of Itachi's squadron. She works as waitress in the dango shop Anko loves so much. Honoka at one time had a crush crush on Sasuke at one time before he became distant. It was until she saw Yakumo taking her training seriously they became friends. She is pretty average all together and doesn't have a lot of skill. She knows what she wants to do, but she lacks the knowledge to move forward." Sarutobi explained as he showed the last picture to Yamato.

The girl stood at 4,11 as she had cute body looking like a model, though her figure was a bit well developed than other girls in her class. She had a vibrant hot pink hair that was little strings of blond hair that was tied to a ponytail on the side. Her reddish brown eyes held warmth and kindness in them. She wore a black tank-top with pink trims that hid a chainmail armor underneath. She wore a white obi around her stomach that held up a cloth similar to her black tank top that had that fell between her legs. From behind the cloth had a split in two covering the back of her legs.

Honoka wore skin tight shorts that matched along with black stockings, and black sandals. She wore her headband across her head like most shinobi's.

Above else this girl looked like she could be in a idol or model magazine by the looks of it.

"Two with considerable talent and one without very much.. I have never been on an actual genin team before, at least I know how to work teams overall." Yamato explained as he picked up the documents and placed them in his pouch.

Sarutobi nodded. "I understand your position, but it's up to you to see if they need to take the extra your time to study them in their daily lives." Sarutobi explained as he handed a key to Naruto's apartment as Yamato picked it up. "This key will help you allow entrance into Naruto's apartment."

Yamato nodded as he picked up the key. "Where will the three of them be at this time day?" Yamato asked him.

"Well I know for a fact that Naruto heads out to a training field that Itachi and Shisui uses to practice his jutsu. He does a good job of maintaining the field itself and makes sure no one throws trash around there. Yakumo has a tendency to paint from the far hills overlooking Konoha or the mountain area. Honoka tends to help her cousin out at the restaurant when she has free time." Sarutobi told him.

"I might as well link up with sempai and see what are his thoughts about his team. By the way if Sasuke is on his team, who else is?" he asked the Hokage.

"Well you will have to ask Kakashi about that when you meet him." He chuckled as Yamato nodded as he disappeared as a blur.

He put his hands together to think for a moment. _"As much as I wished for Sasuke and Naruto to be on the same team. It wouldn't balance out the teams perfectly. Since the sharingan is effective at a controlling the Kyubi if Naruto goes out of control. Yamato with his wood element would is the best man for the job. He can make sure Naruto won't go out of control in near-death situations. I will miss having him in Anbu since he was effective Team member of Ro."_ Sarutobi thought.

.X.

As an hour later as Yamato wore his standard uniform as he walked in the streets as he saw Kakashi walking casually through the streets.

Yamato waved off to him as Kakashi looked up with a bit of shock. "Hey senpai, it's been awhile since we last met." Yamato explained as he gave a few hand signs to detail his current identity.

"I didn't expect to see you in the streets, but it seems you're going by Yamato now." Kakashi explained.

Yamato nodded happily. "Of course senpai, I have been made a Jonin-sensei this time around." Yamato explained as Kakashi nodded.

"I guess you were made into a Jonin-sensei to help deal with Naruto Uzumaki." Kakashi noted as Yamato nodded.

Yamato quickly replied. "Of course senpai, and I have seen him in combat at least. He did a good job defeating Mizuki without any assistance."

"I see, so he was behind the business with the stealing the fake scroll." Kakashi muttered. "I thought the rookie of the year should have noticed such a trick like that."

Yamato nodded. "He could have, but Mizuki managed to steal real documentation from the barrier team to trick him." Yamato vouched for Naruto as Kakashi nodded.

"They are going over security checks again due to Naruto's fake mission. If Mizuki didn't say anything about Naruto stealing the scroll he would have made a clean escape." Kakashi pointed out. "I think you already know that I am a Jonin sensei this time around."

Yamato gave a quick nodded. "I heard you were taking Sasuke Uchiha possibly under your wing, but who are the rest of the members on your team." Yamato curiously asked him

Kakashi sighed as he took some documents from his pouch. "I have been assigned Sakura Haruno who is average kunoichi in training with great written scores. She comes from a civilian background and it's very stable for the most part. The other one is civilian also named Tai Kamiya with a stable background in family. He has penchant for taijutsu and trap making." Kakashi summarized.

Yamato looked at his students documents. He saw Tai had dark brown hair that was spiky and brown eyes. Sakura's was well posed and dressed for hers. He handed them back as he handed his documents to Kakashi.

"I have Yakumo Kurama and Honoka Inari as part of my team." Yamato explained as Kakashi looked at them. He went the documents for a moment before passing them back to him.

"I see and I am guessing you would want to check out our possible team together, huh?" Kakashi thought as Yamato nodded.

"Of course, unless you don't want to senpai." Yamato suggested as Kakashi shrugged.

"I don't mind, but it looks like I am already here at my first stop." Kakashi told him as Yamato stopped to the see the Kamiya household.

As they saw a younger girl running out of the building happily having the same look as Tai, but with a smoother hair cut.

"Finally my chores are done! Now I can go play with Takeru!" She shouted happily as she bumped into Kakashi. She looked up with a sorry face as she looked at Kakashi. "I am sorry I ran into you shinobi-san."

Kakashi gave a his smile behind his mask patting his head. "Don't worry about it, but is this Kamiya residence." Kakashi asked her.

The girl nodded happily. "Of course, my name is Kari Kamiya. Are you here to meet my big brother?" She asked him.

Kakashi shrugged. "Well I came here on a bit of scouting purposes to see what your brother is like in nature. But can you keep it a secret from him?" Kakashi asked her as she nodded.

"I promise, but what do you want to know about him?" Kari curiously asked him.

"Well let's start with things he knows like likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dream. As well his personality and training habits." Kakashi asked her as she nodded. She dragged Kakashi in.

"Mom, we have guests!" Kari shouted as she allowed them in as Yamato smiled as he entered the house.

.X.

It took only a good hour as Kakashi visited the parents of two of his team members of his genin team. Sasuke's visit to apartment was quite the void and even the landlord had little to say about him. Yamato was writing down notes about the them, which Kakashi failed too. As he quickly noticed personality wise his team wasn't much of one at all.

Sasuke was a no sense and no fun type of a guy. He has no friends at all and he deems people with skills weaker than him no good. He hated fangirls like Sakura Haruno the most without a doubt and it seems he focused solely on avenging his clan. Next was Sakura Haruno who had great intelligence overall she lacked in physical skills greatly. She cared about her crush on Sasuke and her appearance than anything else.

Sakura had no real friendship inside the class from any of the girls or the boy do to this lifestyle. Tai was unique in a way seeing he moved here from a village in Fire country. He was courageous boy full with energy. He could work with people despite their differences, but he was often ignored by the girls in class due to Sasuke. Tai was being secretly trained by a retired shinobi from the Third Great Shinobi war, while he worked learned from the Academy. He made up for Sakura's lack of ability.

"Hey Yamato, what are your thoughts about me team?" Kakashi asked him.

Yamato looked up from his notebook. "A trainwreck waiting to happen senpai, none of them even relate to each other in any way. Sasuke wouldn't deem working with the other two due to the fact they will slow them down. Sakura would ignore Tai just to focus on Sasuke instead. Furthermore she is the deadweight of the group not bringing any skills along with her. Tai would make the effort of trying to work with them, but he would be ignored by the two. Tai brings back two elemental jutsu to them, fire and earth namely." Yamato explained as Kakashi nodded in agreeance.

"That is what I thought too. Another team that has a high chance of failing my test." He thought.

Yamato handed the notes to Kakashi's team to him as he pocketed it. "Let's see what your team's home lives look like shall we?" Kakashi offered.

As they headed towards the dango shop downtown as Yamato lead the way. "I will visit Honoka's home first and then do a little interview with her to see what are her thoughts are." Yamato explained as Kakashi looked at him.

"You know you don't have to interview them in person do you?" Kakashi reminded him as Yamato nodded.

"True, but overall I am new to this Kakashi-senpai. I don't even know what type of test to give them in the first place. Besides that I will have clearer picture of them in my head if I do that. I noticed that Kurenai-san has a some in connection to one of her students. I believe Hinata Hyuga was her name." Yamato explained.

"I see, so you want to draw up better conclusions and make a fair test." Kakashi noticed as he turned towards him. "Above all else Yamato it should be about teamwork and coming together honestly with each other. Otherwise a tragedy will occur due to their egos."

Yamato nodded to Kakashi's lecture. "Fair point, I have seen some team members die to the ego of others over the years. Overall the kids are friends with each other in some and fashion." Yamato noted.

"I see," Kakashi muttered as they made it to the shop. As the greeted by older girl that looked like Honoka.

"Good afternoon gentleman, what can I do for you today? My name is Shinko Inari and how can I help you today?" She asked him.

Yamato waved to her. "Well we can start with two sticks of dango and tea please, Inari-san. As well a sit down with you so we can talk about your cousin Honoka." Yamato offered as she stood there in a bit of shock.

"Sure, let me tell my boss first before I sit down." Shinko told them as she showed the two men to her seats. It only took a good 15 minutes for her to get everything settle as she served them their dango and tea. She sat down with her tea across from them.

"Since I know your name already I might as well tell you mine. My name is Yamato and a possible Jonin-sensei for Honoka." Yamato greeted himself. He turned to Kakashi who was drinking his tea with a straw. "This is Kakashi Hatake my senpai and he is here just to relax."

Kakashi gave a wave. "Yo," he said.

Shinko nodded. "I see, so what do you want to ask me about Honoka?" Shinko asked her.

"What was her motivation for becoming a ninja?" Yamato started as he noticed the small frown on Shinko's face.

"It was for me, she wanted to prove that non-clan kids can make excellent shinobis' as well." Shinko admitted as Yamato nodded.

"You were a former genin at one time weren't you, what made you quit?" Yamato asked her.

Shinko sighed heavily. "Well I was part of team 2 and my sensei was Yuki Minazuka. My teammates were Itachi Uchiha and Tenma Izumo." she pointed out.

Kakashi sat back up now with interest to speak. "I am guessing a conflict arises with Itachi being so young and talented." He pointed out as she nodded.

"Of course, Tenma was always so mad at Itachi being so good at everything. He constantly failed every time trying to outdo him during training. Itachi's skills got us to be the best genin of the year and it allowed us to help guard the Daimyo. But an attacked occurred and someone used genjutsu on us. From Itachi's account Tenma couldn't touch the man at all due to some jutsu that made him intangible. He was brutally killed by the man on the spot…" Shinko as sadness gripped her throat.

Kakashi and Yamato frowned as they remembered the job. "So I am guessing his death made you quit?" Kakashi asked her as she nodded.

"Of course, I wasn't ready for the shinobi life so I am working here now as a waitress. Honoka works here all the time when she has the free time, but overall she wants to become a shinobi to make me proud. I also felt very daunted by the fact clan kids do so well in school compared to us civilians." She fearfully admitted. "Will she subjugated to such a thing like Sasuke Uchiha."

Kakashi frowned. "Let me guess he said something to her that destroyed her feelings?" Kakashi asked her as she solemnly nodded.

"Well at first Honoka seemed like a good schoolmate to him before the Uchiha massacre. Then afterwards he beat her soundly in a sparring match that went wrong. Instead of testing each other's skills he ended up putting her in the hospital calling her worthless. When I asked him for an apology he said she was worthless by all accounts and had no skill like the rest." Shinko told them trying to not cry.

"Sasuke Uchiha will not be on my team, so I can guarantee that for you. Overall it's Naruto Uzumaki and Yakumo Kurama." Yamato explained.

"That boy, the one they call a demon at times. He sure has changed a lot from being the rowdy troublemaker he used to be. I heard he made Rookie of the year." Shinko told him.

Yamato nodded. "He did and he is very kind and considerate. You can often see with the people he live with in the apartment complex." he reassured.

Kakashi spoke up not letting this moment go. "By the way, why didn't this make headline news in the newspaper? Such an assault like this should have been said by now." Kakashi wondered.

She shook her head. "They said it was a training accident that went wrong and several old people paid off Honoka's medical bills wanting to keep it quiet about it. Otherwise…" Shinko told her.

Kakashi waved it off. "I understand one of councilors must have done this and talking about can put you in a cell for no reason." He surmised as he moved on to his next question. " What was Itachi's mind set back then?"

She quickly replied to his question. "He was very put off and distant from others. As he liked to watch how others on how they reacted everyday. His friend Shisui knew the most about his him and often sparred with him. During our time together as Team 2, Itachi didn't kill a single soul during our time as genin. He would often use disabling shots with his kunai or genjutsu."

"You sure about that, he murdered his whole clan in one night?" Yamato asked her.

As she nodded. "I know, but it's the truth. I think it's his clan overall that made him snap in reality. His father accepted his invitation to become Chunin exams to go solo." Shinko explained as it confused the two.

"He took the chunin exams alone, that bypasses everything we do in the system. No wonder why you feel daunted and no wonder why he snapped." Yamato reasoned as Kakashi nodded.

"The more I hear of this it's making feel sick." Kakashi muttered. "So I am guessing you tried convincing your cousin not to be a ninja?

Shinko nodded. "I tried and told her of the dangers of becoming one. But she understood it at least and made friends with a girl named Yakumo and Hinata in the class. They had helped her out during her recovery. My efforts to stop her were in vain, but I managed to pitch in teaching her the hair binding jutsu and the Phoenix flower jutsu. I didn't want her walking her into the Academy learning only the basics." She explained fully.

"So she knows that, it wasn't written on her paper." Kakashi pointed out. "It seems the Academy needs to step up their lessons up a bit more."

Yamato nodded. "By the way is alright for me to visit Honoka's room to get a feel for her personality?" Yamato asked her.

Shinko nodded. "Sure, but I hope you don't run into Honoka on the way there. She is no doubt trying to train before the upcoming meeting date." Shinko agreed as she took her cup of tea with her. As she made went back to talk to her boss.

"Well that was eye-catching I didn't Sasuke to beat around a person like that. But I have no doubt is has a lot of anger. I will need keep that in check if he passes my test." Kakashi muttered as Yamato nodded.

"I have no doubt that Naruto holds even more insight to Sasuke's behavior overall. He constantly competes with him during his time in the Academy with Sasuke." Yamato pointed as Kakashi nodded.

As the two men finished their tea and dango quickly as the quickly paid for it. As Yamato gave the Shinko a big tip for sharing some of her time with her.

As they made way to the Inari household as they opened the door to the building. The two investigated the household to see it was quite normal like Sakura's household. As they made it to Honoka's room to see it was neat, but cute filled with dolls and pictures.

It held a taijutsu books, movies, and scented candles. As Yamato was taking notes of the scene as Kakashi was looking on the shelf as he picked up a worn book. "So she is learning how to use Wing Tsun, huh. A very close oriented battle style that uses strikes and grappling techniques to confuse their foe." Kakashi pointed out.

Yamato nodded. "Not bad, she definitely has a lot of promise, but I should move onto Yakumo's house next." Yamato agreed.

.X.

As the two made it their way to Kurama household now, it was more geared towards a clan compound in traditional sense. As Yamato took in the sight of the building.

"This building was made using the first Hokage's ability." he noted as Kakashi looked at the building.

"I can feel it too and smell from the looks of it. There aren't that many building left in Konoha that has wood made from Shodaime's Mokuton ability. The Kurama clan has downsized quite a bit due to the Third Great Shinobi War." Kakashi explained as they made their way to front doorsteps.

They were taking note of the traps and genjutsu fields were in the yard. As they made it to the front of the building to see Murakumo sitting there drinking tea.

"Hatake-san, I didn't expect you showing up my door step. It's nice to see you are doing well again." Murakumo greeted him.

"It's good to see you are doing well, but I am guessing you know why we are here?" Kakashi greeted.

The man nodded. "Of course, Yakumo and Uroko are out shopping right now. They won't be back for quite a while so you can look around her room, if you please. I am taking a guess you want to ask me some questions.

Yamato nodded. "My name is Yamato and I will be Yakumo's possible sensei. It's nice to meet you Murakumo-san. Yamato greeted him as he nodded.

"It's nice you too Yamato-sensei, but if you are wondering why Yakumo wants to become a ninja. I already have your answer for you, she wants to help to regain the family honor of the clan and have a house just like the one we use to have." Murakumo asked him.

Yamato nodded. " I am guessing her physical skills are up to par now?" Yamato asked him.

"For the most part, but I know she can improve on it even more. The jutsu she knows are mostly fall along genjutsu. "Demonic Illusion Hell Viewing, String bean binding illusion, Multiple phantom shuriken. She also picked up a few medical techniques under Kito-sensei over the years as well. She knows the mystical palm, diagnostic, and chakra transfusion jutsu. As well she is working on mastering her tetsugen the one Naruto gave her a few years back." Murakumo told him.

As Yamato wrote it down. "I see, that is a good skill pool she draws from, but overall there aren't that many genjutsu users in the village. The Academy doesn't teach much on the subject." Yamato pointed out.

"Well I see she has a lot of drive unlike the other girls in the academy. I am starting to wish that she could have inspired the others to do better." Kakashi muttered as Murakumo showed them into his house. As the two made it to her room.

Yamato took in the look of her room to see a bed to the side of the room. A desk having paintings and unfinished artworks on the table. The two could see it was a painting to Iruka and his graduating class. A drawer sat close to the wall along with a bookcase that was filled with books as well art supplies.

The turned to see a giant walk in closet filled with clothes and ninja equipment. What really got their attention was the painting on the wall with beautiful scenery of a waterfall and cherry blossoms.

"She painted on the ceiling as well? I can at least say she is very talented artist at least." Kakashi noted as he looked down at his Icha Icha book. "I wonder if I should send a letter to Jiraiya-sama about adding painted scenes."

Yamato nodded. "I don't think he has the drawing talent to do that senpai, but it looks like I learned what I needed from her. I am moving to Naruto's house and see what it is like." Yamato told him as Yamato finished his notes.

.X.

The two Jonin walked down the street together as the headed down town as Yamato found Naruto's apartment complex.

As they stopped at a huge apartment complex that looked quite nice. They both saw a huge garden on top of the building with a water tower.

"So this is where Naruto lives, huh? It's nicest apartment complex out of the bunch. Workers from River country came over and did the project and remodel the whole thing top to bottom." Yamato pointed out as Kakashi nodded.

"I know I had to interview and study everyone that lives here. The rent is high due to the fact everything is new and they have actual security system." Kakashi pointed out as they made their way up stairs. As Yamato opened the door with the extra key as they walked in. They saw a well lavish entryway as well several paintings hanged on the wall. The two saw some of the paintings about the Hokage's in their youth on the wall. As he saw a painting of Yakumo, Naruto, and Shisui Uchiha on the far wall.

The colors scheme of the house was well balanced having a splash of orange, black, and white colors. As it connected to a well stocked kitchen with a nice refrigerator as Kakashi looked around.

"Nice place, I am guessing Yakumo made the murals on the wall?" Kakashi commented.

The two inspected the place they saw the overhanging balcony with chairs and table outside as cloth protected it from the elements. A set of stairs were made to go up to the roof. The two explored the apartment as they noticed a laundry room with a laundry room with a washer/ dryer inside with several detergents and cleaning supplies inside. It held onto various devices like a clothes steamer to brooms, and a mop.

The other side of that room was the bathroom, which was large in lavish as well. It had marble flooring as it had sink, tube, and a shower. As a closet filled with towels, robes, and slippers. They walked over to Naruto's bedroom to see it was huge as well as well neat. Bed sat in one corner of the room along with a chester.

It had several scrolls and books sitting along with a clock and a light. As a closet filled with clothes from both left to right that had sandals shoes alike in a row neatly. A bookcase sat quite cosy in the corner of the room.

Yamato looked left to see a guest room that connected to the bathroom on one side. He turned right heading towards another room. As he opened the door to see a room filled with racks there as shuriken, kunai, and fuma shuriken sat neatly in place. An orange vest sat neatly on a rack with arm guards, and shin guards. Above it sat a sword rack holding his two news blades. Sarutobi turned over to a small book case having seals along.

Jutsu scrolls sat neatly along a table sat neatly in the room. It held ink, scrolls, special chakra paper. The right side held various bomb making materials for flashbangs, smoke bombs, and various pranking materials. Yamato saw a pair of gloves with seals on the table that had an unfinished array on them. He wondered what they were.

" _So father like son he, he is very meticulous with his house."_ Kakashi told him as he saw several seals with security locks on the shelf. Kakashi saw a few jutsu scrolls on the shelf.

"Wild water wave, gale palm, and wind bunshin." Kakashi read out loud as saw experimental on the side of it. "It looks he developed the first wind clone by the looks of it."

Yamato looked in confusion. "The first wind clone? Senpai you have recorded over a 1000 jutsu's and yet you haven't seen actual wind clone?" Yamato curiously asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Of course, and I doubt Suna has such a technique in their library.. I know for a fact that there is a clone for earth, water, lighting, but fire and wind are elusive in nature. Due to fire and wind's intangible nature they can't be molded correctly. I know for a fact fire jutsu tends to burn more chakra then anything and then wind is hard to mold without a medium." Kakashi explained.

"Then why does is say experimental still?" Yamato asked him.

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "I think Naruto is trying to blend gale palm and the clone jutsu together. He is finding out real quickly it takes a lot of effort giving a illusionary clone tangibility. Furthermore it's actions are still limited in nature and it also seems like matches his attempts to learn sealing. It's a slow and steady process of elimination without any guidance on what to do." Kakashi surmised as Yamato nodded.

"I am guessing the Hokage put a stop to him learning more advanced sealing methods otherwise he would learn about the Kyubi in nature." Yamato pointed as Kakashi nodded.

"True, he is smart enough to put things together now." Kakashi muttered.

Yamato nodded with a smile as he wrote down the last of his information. "I have everything I need for now, but I will survey them personally for a few days. I used my transmission wood jutsu to plant my wood clones down. I placed one in Yakumo's room, Honoka's room, and I will place one in Naruto's garden to ensure it reaches him. He tends to everyday if it's possible." Yamato explained.

Kakashi sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had such an ability that didn't drain my reserves. I can still use the Kage Bunshin to watch over my targets." Kakashi regretted.

" _It seems I need to do more of my homework with Sasuke the most. It could have been him acting out due to their deaths, but I need to be sure. He could prove to be detrimental to the team overall."_ Kakashi thought.

Yamato smirked. "Well we can use a collaboration jutsu then Sempai. We will need to form the hands seals together and use a bit of chakra together. You will need to place your mental command into them to form them." Yamato theorized as Kakashi nodded.

Yamato stood beside Kakashi as he held out his left hand as Kakashi did his right. They slammed their hands together going through tiger, dog, and snake hand seals.

"Moku Bunshin no jutsu (wood clone)!" Kakashi shouted. As he felt ripple of chakra coming from Yamato as it rippled over his body. As three clones peeled off from Kakashi's body as they stood their perfectly. As the clones shifted around for a bit as Kakashi let go of Yamato's hand. "Scout out the targets I have and please do it covertly."

The clones nodded disappearing in a shunshin as Yamato shrugged. "Well since I have some free time, I might as well make up a test for them." Yamato explained as he made his way out of the apartment.

.X.

 _(Next day)_

Yamato's clone watching over Honoka sat high above a building watching her come out of her house. She wore a hot pink shinobi gi for training as she carried a pouch on her hip. "I am going out for training Shinko Onee-chan!" Honoka shouted as her sister soon exited the building dressed for work.

"Don't work yourself too hard Hono-chan you don't want to be in the hospital and miss your meeting at the academy." Shinko warned her.

As the girl smiled happily. "Okay, and I be back around lunch time I will come back to help you at the restaurant!" Honoka happily shouted as she ran off jumping to the roof tops. As the clone followed her along the way.

She headed towards the Konoha's Hot springs, which didn't look like training field.

" _Why is she heading to the Konoha Hot Springs?"_ Yamato's clone thought as it followed her.

It took a good fifteen minutes for Honoka to get there as she landed next to a tree. Yamato saw a familiar person sitting there waiting for her.

"Good morning Ebisu-sensei!" Honoka shouted happily as Ebisu waved to her.

"Ah good morning to you Honoka-chan, it's good to see that you are very punctual. If you want to become a strong kunoichi it's best you have less distractions unlike your terrible classmates. They spend so much time primping themselves rather than training. If I was teaching the class I wouldn't stand for such a thing." Ebisu told her.

As she nodded. "So what are we going today then?" Honoka enthusiastically asked.

Ebisu turned with a smirk. "You are going to learn how to climb a tree without your hands?" Ebisu told her leaving her confused.

"Climb a tree?" Honoka asked him a bit confused on the subject.

"It's best I show you what I mean." Ebisu told her as he quickly made the ram seal. He walked slowly up the tree mystifying her as she smiled.

"That so cool! I didn't know you could do that!" She shouted happily as Ebisu nodded.

"It's a general skill that every shinobi must learn and I will say with utmost confidence this can help your immensely." Ebisu lectured as he pushed his glasses up. "This is a chakra control exercises that helps you focus a fixed amount of chakra to the soles of your feet. Which is the hardest part of your body to generate chakra."

Honoka nodded. "So instead of focusing chakra I am controlling it to a point?" Honoka asked him.

Ebisu nodded jumping off the tree. "Of course, take for instance Hosenka jutsu (Phoenix fire). It fires small volleys of fireballs to the target. Controlling them all for you must be difficult overall for you." he explained.

She nodded with a frown. "I can only shoot three at a time." She muttered.

Ebisu patted her on the head. "Worry not this exercise can help you immensely in more than one way. Once you master this technique you can easily shoot seven times. By doing this exercise continually you can expand your chakra reserves. Most genin learning this exercise would call it quits once they reach a tall tree. Don't be a fool and stop there. You will need to try to stand there for hours or practice your katas along the tree. By timing yourself each time and lasting longer shows your chakra reserves are increasing." Ebisu happily explained.

"Is there something else it can do?" Honoka asked him.

Ebisu made the same seal again as he jumped high into the sky before her as he smirked. She smiled brightly seeing him doing it.

"As you can see by focusing your chakra to your feet you can propel yourself high into the air." Ebisu explained as he landed in the tree. "But before you do this exercise you should know that using too little chakra will make you fall from the tree. Using too much chakra you will be pushed away with ease as well break a part of the tree." He told her.

Honoka made a rat hand seal and place her foot on the tree slowly. She focused her chakra as she moved slowly up the tree as Ebisu watched carefully as she made it up the top of the tree. "I did it!" Honoka jumped as Ebisu looked in shock. She started falling for a moment.

Honoka slammed her feet back down as Ebisu sighed in relief. "I know that you are excited that you got it on your first try. So your chakra control is quite perfect very good, but it overall it shows your chakra pool is smaller than others. Now let's spar on tree for fifteen minutes please so you can get the hang of combat using this technique." Ebisu told her as she nodded.

As the two took up stances on three and began fighting each other. For fifteen minutes as the clone watched with interest. As the match with Ebisu seemed a bit more one matched. He kept hitting inside her guard along her chest. She grunted trying to hide the pain.

"That hurts…" She muttered trying to keep up with the man.

"It's best get to use to it then let an opponent knock you around Honoka-chan. I guarantee that won't pull their punches." Ebisu explained as he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. As he threw off the tree as she fell on her back.

"Owie…" she muttered as Ebisu shook his head.

"Wing Tsun or Wing Chun is your prefer uses eye gouging moves, chain punches, force deflection, knee cap breaking, and elbow strikes to debilitate the opponent. Don't be scared Honoka about hurting me. It's all the point about the training itself and mix in some judo throws as well. Since you weigh only less than a hundred pounds it would suitable." Ebisu told her.

She nodded rubbing her back. "Okay, but why judo?" She asked him.

"You don't have to worry about punching power or knocking the opponent out. The ground or object you stand on could become your fist. If throws do not work you can easily break limbs or dislocate something." Ebisu lectured her jumping off the tree. He landed next to helping her get up.

"Since you have the exercise down now, point yourself to the hot springs now. You use the jutsu you know, while focusing the a fixed amount of chakra." he advised her.

She went through her hand seals as she breathed in deep. As she let a flurry of fireball into the water as she jumped with joy. "I created seven fire balls, just like you said!" she shouted with a joy.

Ebisu smiled patting her head. "Well to commemorate this morning, how about I give you a new jutsu." Ebisu told her as he pulled out a scroll from his pouch. He handed it to her as she jumped for joy. "The jutsu is named Kasumi enbu no jutsu (Mist blaze dance). It's a supplementary technique that is ranks D. It helps you exhale a flammable gas from your lungs."

Honoka looked at him. "It's fire type jutsu, but it's a gas?" Honoka asked him.

"Of course it's less chakra intensive and it can be used to mark a target with scent or light them on fire. For instance once your exhale it a simple spark from two kunai can't set off an inferno." Ebisu carefully explained. "But don't try that just yet until you master the technique. Also the tree climbing exercise can also do one more thing."

"One more thing?" she muttered.

"If used correctly you can apply your chakra to a kunai and direct it at a target. You can also use this to make your kicks more dangerous." Ebisu explained.

Honoka nodded. "Will it be enough to impress my classmates?" she muttered as Ebisu frowned.

"I still see you can remember that day huh?" Ebisu muttered as she started tearing up as she nodded.

"Why did he had to beat me up so badly? I was just trying to be his friend." Honoka told him.

Ebisu took a handkerchief from his pouch and gave it to her. "Thankfully I was there that day as a substitute teacher for one of the classes. That boy is messed up in the head and I have no doubt you reminded him of the incident." Ebisu explained.

"I didn't even say anything to him about it. He was so lonely and he wouldn't speak to anyone." She pointed out.

"You didn't do anything wrong, but I have no doubt he was reminded by the fact he introduced you to Sasuke. You were a reminder of those happier days now gone to him. No one punished the boy for his wrongdoing and swept it under the rug with ease. Putting you in the hospital for three months. He didn't even apology to you when your sister asked him. I am glad he didn't make rookie of the year so they can elevate his status." Ebisu muttered.

Yamato frowned from afar. _"So that is what happened to her and why she is so kind towards others."_ the clone thought.

Ebisu patted her head. "Well before you can enjoy the onsen let's brush up on your physical training." He told her as she nodded with a smile.

"Okay," she agreed.

As the two spent a couple of hours training as the real Yamato was taking down notes in house on the situation.

.X.

As the Kurama heiress was walking down the street as she carried an art bag on her hip. She wore kunoichi uniform as she wore headband her head. She made her way to the Yamanaka flower shop with a purpose.

She walked into the shop as she passed the purple curtain to see a multitude of flowers blooming in the shop.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop." Yakumo heard a bored voice say. As she noticed Ino sitting at the counter looking surprised.

"I didn't expect to see you Yakumo this early in the morning." Ino remarked as Yakumo nodded.

"True, but I have some free some time now before the meeting and I want to finish this painting for Iruka-sensei." Yakumo explained. "I came by the flower shop hoping your father has made the paint using the flowers I order for it along with grounded medical herbs I asked for."

Ino looked down at her notes as she notes for it. "You paid for them in advance too, but daddy's in the back right now watering the flowers. Yet I am really curious now, I want to see this painting of yours even it's not complete." Ino asked as Yakumo pulled out her painting from her bag.

Ino looked at the faint sketches and the painted sections. Ino looked over the painting with awe as she smiled. "It's a lovely painting and I can see that you captured Sakura's giant forehead really greatly. While keeping me looking quite fabulous, I love it. I wonder if you can do me a picture of Sasuke and me together." Ino happily told her.

As Yakumo sighed. "I don't see why you like Sasuke along with the others. I think it's silly and embarrassing that you all aren't taking your training seriously." Yakumo pointed out.

Ino pouted. "Sasuke is very cool for his age and he is twice as mature then all the boys in the class. Plus he looks so hot." Ino explained.

"Do you even know what he likes?" She asked the platinum blonde.

Ino stopped for a moment to think about it. "He loves eating rice." Ino started as Yakumo sighed.

"Well I know for a fact before he turned all cool he loved eating onigiri and tomatoes. He hates eating natto or anything sweet. Heck all the Valentine chocolate all those girls made went into Choji's stomach." Yakumo pointed out.

Ino glared at her. "Wait you knew all along what his favorites were and never told anyone! That is so not fair Yakumo, but at least I only know this secret. I will be sure to give him tomatoes and onigiri for lunch on orientation day." Ino smirked as Yakumo sighed.

"Besides that where are the things I ordered, Ino?" Yakumo asked her.

Ino stopped her from changing the subject. "Hey don't just sweep this under the rug Yakumo. If you know so much about him you can at least tell me his hobbies." Ino pleaded.

The young painter sighed. "Well that is it besides using my observation skills. Besides that he only only likes training or taking walks, which everyone knows. Now I need my order." Yakumo told her.

"Since we are on the talk about love, who do you like?" Ino innocently asked.

Yakumo gave a light blush. "I am too young for such a thing Ino and besides that I want my stuff." She told her nicely as a demonic version appeared beside her. Making Ino shiver in cold blood.

"Okay, but please calm down!" Ino shivered.

As it faded as Yakumo smiled as Inoichi walked into the room with a smile. "So Ino saw that demonic persona you made using your genjutsu." he noticed as he chuckled.

"Daddy that was scary, how can she do that without hand seals?" Ino asked him.

Inoichi shrugged. "It was always with her in a way, but it was formed due to imbalance of yin in her body and manifested her stress, hate, and desperation. She turned into a convenient genjutsu to scare some people. No doubt to put the fear in Shikamaru and Naruto at times." he pointed out. He carried a bag filled with paint tubes and grounded medicine. He handed it to her with a smile. "Thank you for your business Yakumo-chan and it's a pleasure making paint out of the flowers we grow here. I wish Ino has some of your focus on her training then her overall looks."

Ino hit her dad in the side. "Daddy a girl always have to look good. There is no kunoichi in the force that looks bad." Ino complained.

As Inoichi shrugged. "Can't comment on that since I am married man, but I will ask all the singles males that I work with that question. Are you training today after your painting session?" Inoichi asked her.

She nodded. "Of course, I plan on doing some exercises and genjutsu training. Then I will head to the waterfall outside the Konoha to swim for my resistance training." She told them.

Ino smiled. "Oh, I didn't think there was a waterfall outside Konoha's wall. I bet it feels real nice to just take a dip at this time of the year." Ino explained.

Inoichi picked up on this her cue. "Fine Ino, you can go swimming since you manned the shop diligently." Inoichi told her as Ino hugged her daddy.

Yakumo sighed as Ino ran into the housing area to go grab her swimsuit. Inoichi turned to his Yakumo and gave he gave slight bow with his hands up. "I am sorry that I forced her on you, but she has worked really hard in the shop lately. Plus she really needs to make a real friend her age. Her last friend Sakura stopped being her friend due to liking the same boy." Inoichi apologized.

Yakumo nodded. "True, none of the girls in my class have any true friendship with each other. The only girls I can relate to is Hinata and Honoka who try their hardest in class." Yakumo pointed out. "However, I was also going to practice tree climbing exercise during my training. Does Ino know the technique?"

Inoichi nodded. "She is focused on her looks than actual training, though I have no doubt she would train harder just to get the upper hand on Sakura. Besides that do you know about the Konoha Archive library?" Inoichi asked her.

Yakumo turned her head in confusion. "Archive library, I never heard of it." She muttered with interest.

"Well it's a library stores information on fighting styles, jutsu, history, and other things about our village. It's usually restricted to people until they are genin, but even then information is locked by rank. The Konoha Cryptanalysis team helps run the building in general as the decode secret messages. Though I would advise going there with a Jonin rank ninja or a chunin when you start receiving your assignments.

"Is it important?"

Inoichi nodded with confidence. "Everyday is a new way to kill a man and you shouldn't be lax with information. It can be the key to saving you or your allies." he warned her as Ino came back.

"Yakumo let's go swimming and hopefully we don't run into forehead on the way!" Ino excitedly shouted as Yakumo nodded.

"Okay, but if we do see her don't say anything to her please. I don't want to turn this into a shouting contest." Yakumo asked her.

"Okay," Ino agreed as the two walked out together. "By the way before we were rudely interrupted by my father? What boy do you like?"

She asked as Yakumo nodded her head in shame. Inoichi walked out the shop to see the girls off as he turned left to see Yamato's clone sitting there. " I am guessing you are scouting out your future student eh, Yamato." Inoichi asked as the clone nodded.

"Of course, Kakashi-senpai believes studying their room and where they live gives a hint to who they are. However, I rather survey them in their natural surroundings." Yamato explained.

"Carry on then, and make sure they come back home safe." Inoichi told him as the clone nodded as it vanished. Inoichi walked back into his shop focused on the work ahead.

.X.

The last wood clone watched from a good distance, but overall Naruto Uzumaki was walking towards the Nara compound. He walked a casual pace as he headed towards the area watching the deer running about eating. As some of clan members were herding them around to harvest their antlers.

Naruto casually rested his hand on Shisui on his hip as he saw Shikamaru was playing Shogi with his father.

"Hey Shikamaru, it seems you aren't busy today, eh!" Naruto greeted him as the boy sighed.

"Why would I be working on my week off? I just don't see the point of training and tiring yourself out." Shikamaru muttered as he kept his eye on the board. He was trying to find a way to beat his father. Naruto walked up to look at the board as he picked up one of Shikamaru's pieces and plopped it down somewhere on the board.

The boy looked in horror for a moment. "What are you doing, Naruto?" Shikamaru shouted as he noticed Naruto moved the king for him. "Oh that will work."

Shikaku frowned. "Damn it, I almost won that." he muttered in frustration.

" _No matter how good you are with planning everything one chaotic element can always shift favor or fortune depending."_ Shikaku thought as he checked the board for an answer.

Naruto sat down by the two Nara men. "So you are planning on lounging around and not training before orientation, Shikamaru." Naruto asked him.

Shikamaru nodded. "I just don't see the point in doing some last minute training. This is the most relaxing week I had ever in a long while." he told them.

"Shikamaru!" a voice shouted as Shikamaru sighed.

"Damn it, first you and now my mother. Since you are here Naruto can you go see what she wants?" Shikamaru asked him as Naruto's eyes twitched.

" _He is so damn lazy, despite being so smart."_ Naruto thought.

"Fine, but if she wants you I will let her come here." Naruto told him as he made his way inside. Shikamaru looked at his father struggling for an answer.

"So it's your move dad." He pointed out.

"I know it's my move, I am just thinking about what move I should take." Shikaku answered a bit annoyed by his son's behavior. "Though you are lucky to have someone to have him as friend that can put up with your attitude. I remember the day when Iruka cancelled his lecture and made you do physical exercises all day."

Shikamaru grunted. "One of the worst days of my life, I got beat around by Kiba and Sasuke. Then Iruka has the audacity of sending Naruto home with parent meeting letter." Shikamaru muttered.

.X.

 _(Flashback)_

 _Five years ago_

 _Naruto sighed as he carried Shikamaru on his back who was sleeping soundly. He looked at the map Iruka gave him to see where Shikamaru's house was. Shikamaru fell out from exhaustion during training that day when Kiba, Choji, Kiba, and Akamaru were messing around._

 _Mizuki was responsible to talk to Kiba's mother Tsume, and Iruka was going to talk to Choji's mother. Though it left him with Shikamaru, since Iruka trusted him with giving a letter to his mother._

" _How far away is this house?" Naruto muttered as he saw the Nara clan symbols. He made it on the property to see the deers looking at him from afar. He saw several of Shikamaru's clan members were taking it easy. They seem to have the same approach of Shikamaru's to life as he wondered if it was genetic._

 _He made it to the front door and knocked really hard. As the door opened up real quickly as he saw a woman with a stern looking at him._

" _Shikamaru you're late and…" She stopped to look at Naruto. Naruto gave a short bow to her._

" _Good afternoon Nara-san and I am sorry for intruding. I just came to drop Shikamaru home since he over exerted himself on physical training day. As well give you a letter from Iruka-sensei." Naruto explained as he pulled out a letter._

 _She gently took the letter and looked at it and frowned greatly. "So Shikamaru is doing terrible at school again." she grunted in frustration. "Shikaku, we need to have a talk!"_

 _Naruto heard no one's voice as the woman grunted being mad as they saw a clan member walking around the corner. "Shikaku isn't here Yoshino-chan he was called to emergency meeting by the Hokage." he explained._

 _Yoshino sighed as she turned back to Naruto. "Can you please help deliver him upstairs for me?" Yoshino asked him as Naruto nodded._

" _Sure Yoshino-san," Naruto agreed as she lead him through clan house with ease. As she took him upstairs to see Shikamaru's room to see it was quite clean._

" _I didn't expect Shikamaru's room to be so clean, he usually doesn't care about being neat at school." Naruto commented seeing the woman look frustrated._

" _Of course he isn't clean and neat he takes up after my husband. I am the one that has to deal with Shikamaru habits in the end." She told him as Naruto placed him in bed. He made sure to remove his sandals and pouch. He set them calmly on the desk for him._

" _Does Shikamaru have any homework?" Yoshino asked missing a name._

 _Naruto smiled. "The name is Naruto Uzumaki, Yoshino-san. The homework assignment is really easy to do. It was to point out the flaws he made in sparring session as well improve his physical conditioning." Naruto told her._

 _He pulled out the class assignment from his pouch and gave it to her. She saw that it was filled out already as she stared at it. "It's already filled out." she noticed as Naruto nodded._

" _Well I know Shikamaru wouldn't be moving sometime and even by tomorrow's standings. So I filled it out for him just incase he forgets about. Overall I wrote down that he needs to be more active and put more effort into learning taijutsu more." Naruto answered as she nodded._

" _Thank you for at least trying to set Shikamaru on track for me. If someone wasn't watching out for him he would make the lowest grades in the class." Yoshino thanked as Naruto nodded. "Naruto, can you do me a favor please since you are heading back out."_

" _Sure, I don't mind I have a lot of free time on my hands."_ Naruto agreed.

 _Yoshino nodded. "Shikamaru was to give Choji's some packs of medicine to his clan, but he forgot this morning. Do you think you can deliver them for me?" She asked him as Naruto nodded._

 _The boy took out his map of Konoha. "Can you point it out on the map please so I can deliver it properly then?" He asked as Yoshino marked it down for him._

" _Okay, and the medicine is by the door when you go out. It has the clan symbol on them and you won't miss it." She explained as Naruto nodded. He made his way downstairs to get the medicine. Yoshino called out to him. "Naruto don't be a stranger now, you're welcome to come over here. I would want to here want Shikamaru does at school time to time."_

 _Naruto nodded with a smile. "Sure thing Yoshino-san!" Naruto happily agreed._

 _(Flashback ended)_

.X.

"The worst thing about it is the fact she allowed him to come back home just to report on me. I knew he would be troublesome and then Yakumo had to get involved."

Shikaku shrugged. "Well it's not my fault that you are sleeping in class and avoiding work. I always tell you it's best to get out the way and then you can relax Shikamaru. It doesn't help the fact Naruto gets free food time to time as well." Shikaku told him.

Shikamaru glared at him. "I remember distinctly that you weren't off the hook either." Shikamaru reminded him as Shikaku shrugged.

"I can deal with it." He muttered staring at the shogi board as he made his move again.

Meanwhile Naruto walked into the entrance untying his sword and placed it on the shelf as well taking off his shoes. He noticed Yoshino was standing there a bit unhappy with her hands on hips

"Yoshino-san, do you need any help with anything?" Naruto asked her.

"So Shikamaru sent you here instead." Yoshino angrily muttered.

Naruto nodded. "Seems so, but getting Shikamaru to do anything is hard enough. Yakumo and me kept the threat of placing itching powder to keep him awake during class." Naruto told her.

Yoshino sighed. "The only thing that gets the men or the family to move is life and death situation. Still, Naruto can you do me a favor?" Yoshino explained.

"Sure Yoshino-san, asking Shikamaru to do anything will probably take too long." Naruto agreed.

"I need help cleaning my son's room up since he so lazy." She asked him as Naruto nodded.

"Where are the cleaning supplies at?" Naruto asked her as Yoshino guided him through the house collecting everything.

He walked into Shikamaru's room seeing a lot of mess, clothes, and his bed was unmade. "This won't take long."

Naruto opened the windows up in the room confusing her. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

Naruto clapped his hands as a huge gust blew throughout the room. As the dust blew out the window. "Just removing the dust in the room." Naruto explained as he quickly shut the windows.

"Sometimes I wish my son had the drive you do. At least work smarter not harder. By delaying everything he only makes things worse." Yoshino told him.

Naruto nodded as he began picking everything up in the room. Yoshino helped Naruto out with this task. It only took a good 30 minutes to do the process as she mopped the floor before leaving the room.

"There all done, and it didn't take too long with your help." She happily told him.

"Is there anything else you need help since I am here?" Naruto asked her as Yoshino waved it off.

"Well since you are here, how about a little training exercise?" Yoshino told him.

"Training exercise, what type of exercise?" Naruto curiously asked him.

"I heard you have a hard time giving a fixed amount to certain jutsu. How about learning how to fix that otherwise you would be put in a terrible position." Yoshino advised.

"A new chakra control exercise, will help me form clones more easily." Naruto asked her as she nodded.

"Of course, but grab your shoes and your sword and meet me outside." Yoshino advised as Naruto nodded rushing down stairs.

"Yes ma'am." Naruto agreed as Yoshino went down stairs.

Yoshino sighed. "Shikamaru should be learning how to do this exercise as well since he has a low amount of chakra. As well brush up on his taijutsu since he can't rely on the clan's jutsu to solve everything." she muttered going down stairs.

A good ten minutes passed by as Yoshino to explain the mechanics of the techniques to the boy. He was often struggling with the technique as he tried channeling his chakra to his feet. He was trying to maintain as he was making small craters in tree as he cut it.

"This is harder than it looks." he huffed as he looked up at the tree.

Yoshino nodded. "That sounds about right." she pointed out. "Do you get the idea why it's harder for you?" she asked him.

Naruto nodded. "I am guessing I have too much chakra and I am using too much." Naruto thought as she nodded.

"Correct, girls tend to get this exercise down quickly compared to men due their maturity." Yoshino explained.

"Maturity," Naruto muttered.

"For instance have you heard of Yang and Yin, Naruto-kun." Yoshino asked him as he nodded.

"Of course Yin-yang is a balance of physical and spiritual energies." Naruto explained.

"So what have you been doing over the years, Naruto?" She asked him.

"Training my body really hard…" Naruto muttered as she smiled.

"By doing that constant action you only serve to increase your yang more. Above all else you would be more suited to physical activity as well ninjutsu in question. But genjutsu would always elude you due to the fact you lack of spiritual growth. I know you meditate, but not for hours like Fire Temple monks do. Girls on the other hand grow up and think more about themselves along with surroundings. Forming the Yin-release requires little physical effort, but more imagination." She lectured him.

"Like how Yakumo is a good artist and understands a lot about colors in general. I focus more on calligraphy, which tends to be bland to an artist." Naruto pointed out as she nodded.

"Correct having the mind-set and focus is key to using genjutsu. Just to remind you not all girls are suited for this task, a majority can do this." Yoshino explained as Naruto nodded. "Well you can practice the technique in your off time. I don't want the deer to be more skittish with you cracking wood every waking minute. Let's move on to something very practical for you."

Naruto nodded agreeing with her. "Like what?"

"Do you know any water attack or fire attack Naruto?" Yoshino asked him.

"I know only know Mizurappa." Naruto answered.

Yoshino nodded. "Very good, today you will be learning Doton: Doryuheki jutsu (earth mudwall). It's a short range defensive move that typically ranks B on the list."

"A b-rank jutsu, is it very hard?" Naruto happily asks her.

"Well it depends overall on how big you want the wall in general. It's not a problem to create small walls, but to form giant walls are different thing altogether. The seals behind it are tiger, hare, boar, and then dog." she told him.

As she slammed her hands together as she made a wall along the ground. Naruto looked at it for a moment as he punched the wall. He felt quite a lot of density coming from it despite it being made of hardened mud. He used his chakra echolocation and sent out a pulse to see the wall had chakra coating it.

"It's a lot stronger than actual mud wall." he noticed as she nodded.

"True, it's been coated with my chakra making it stronger, but overall it was taken directly from the ground. Another way of performing the jutsu is by spit out on the ground, but the problem behind that is the fact it drains chakra quickly. You must have noticed it when you use Mizurappa as well." She pointed out.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, when I use it it tends to drain me more then usual." Naruto agreed.

"The next exercise after tree climbing will deal with that issue, but the first exercise is perfect for this. The wall is a fixed amount of chakra unlike a stream of water." Yoshino explained as she turned Naruto around. "Why don't you give the jutsu a try?"

Naruto nodded as he slammed his hands together. He focused as he slammed his hands along the ground. He saw the jutsu formed before him a bit unstable as Naruto sighed.

"I am guessing I will need to finish the chakra control exercise first before I attempt this jutsu." Naruto muttered in annoyance.

Yoshino looked at it as she punched the top of it off with ease. "If a fire jutsu was coming at you right now and you use this technique you would be burned by now." Yoshino explained as she kicked the bottom of the wall to see it was stronger. "Besides that maybe I should tell you the do's and don't about this technique."

Naruto nodded. "I am guessing it can block fire and water." Naruto told her as she nodded.

"Correct it does well blocking them, but raiton type jutsu will make this wall crumble with ease. Well depending on it's rank of course." She explained.

"Depends on the rank of the jutsu?" He asked her as she nodded.

"Yes overall jutsu have ranks on how hard it is to use, how much chakra it needs, and it's effectiveness. For instance two Grand fireballs collided with each other and explosion happens meaning they cancel themselves out. If you managed to master the Mizurappa fully versus grand fireball jutsu you could beat out it due to type advantage. Did Iruka-sensei go over type advantages with you, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded."Of course, fire beats wind, water beats fire, water is beat by earth, lightning beats earth, and wind beats lightning." Naruto reminded himself.

"Correct, but if a high ranking jutsu like wind versus a low level fire jutsu. You can snuff out flames with ease. It's best to approach a problem using taijutsu, bukijutsu, and kenjutsu before launching jutsu's at opponent." She explained carefully as Naruto was writing out the details of this lecture on the scroll with the jutsu he was learning.

Yamato's clone looked on with interest as it noticed something. _"Well it looks like Naruto has found him something to do during the week. Overall he has the strongest ninjutsu potential out the three once he gets his chakra control down. So overall I have one focusing on ninjutsu, another genjutsu, and the last focusing on taijutsu. I might as well report my findings to the Hokage._ it said as the clone hid itself again.

.X.

 **Well that's the end of the chapter and I hoped you liked it. But I need to clarify something before I actually continue with this story. So listen up and listen well. I had two reviews stating about Naruto learning the Kage Bunshin no jutsu might be advantageous. However I didn't let Naruto learn it last chapter.**

 **For obvious reasons alone the Kage Bunshin no jutsu is a dangerous idea to teach Naruto. The more and more he uses it teaches him to rely on the Kyubi's chakra to keep fighting. As well letting his influence shine in and let him go out control. Letting a genin learn this technique off the bat is irresponsible as well.**

 **Bigfan22 stated Naruto is a bit more mature than he was in cannon, but the Hokage can't teach anyone personally and be called out on favoritism. Iruka teaching Naruto a sensory technique is okay since he it was related to his classwork. So no one can call him out on it for teaching him such a thing.**

 **Overall the Kage Bunshin jutsu how Kishimoto presented in the Shippuden was abused heavily and by fellow writers making a cop-out to let Naruto train normally. Mind you he does have the Kyubi, but overall Naruto in a sense wanted people not to see him as the Kyubi.**

 **Overall the technique was designed and inspired by Hashirama with his use of Wood Clones. They can travel far and telepathically relay information from the user. As well the user can send out it's command to help coordinate the clones. If multiple shadow clones were hit shouldn't all the feedback from the damage they took go to the user.**

 **He also notes that Kakashi in a sense is nerfed for the story intensive purposes of Naruto. He had so many accomplishments under his belt and then bam nothing. The Sharingan may drain his chakra, but only when he using it actively. It places a huge strain on his body because it's not compatible.**

 **Now I won't give many spoilers, but I thought it was low down of Kishimoto to give Minato's legendary rasengan to Naruto, but not his mother's chakra chains. So yes I will explore his heritage more than anything. Like the Kumogakure attacking Uzushiogakure for the Treasured tools of the Six path sage.**

 **Rydanfall states that Naruto may be related to the Senju in some way may be true. Minato learning the Hiraishin and improving upon means he had some connection with them. Since many Senju started losing their family name due to marriage. Minato may be related to the Second Hokage in some way. I am just speculating this, but if such a jutsu was written down Orochimaru would have used it. Hell he had the Rashomon gates, Edo tensei, and the Kage bunshin jutsu.**

 **But never the technique Minato uses seems quite weird to me.**

 **Overall I should stop my ranting and thank you all for reading the story so far. I will try to update again soon or take some time out to write a new chapter.**

 **Kazama out!**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the concept of this alternate world I made in Fanfiction. If I did own Naruto I would have to deal with fans trying to ban my work telling me they didn't like the ending of Naruto. What a headache it must be to deal with fans like that.

 **Ch. 6 Team 3**

.X.

 _(Orientation day)_

Naruto walked calmly to school as he wore the same outfit he wore the other day taking pictures. He had Aka no Shi strapped to his waist as he walked calmly to the academy. He was making good time to the academy as he saw several people already were dressed properly for this day. He saw Sasuke walking calmly to the Academy all quietly with his hands in his pockets. He was ignoring his fangirls saying good morning as he noticed Naruto's and his new sword.

"You finally upgraded yourself to a real sword, instead of playing around with that stick of yours." Sasuke somewhat mocked him.

Naruto flicked it up. "Of course, but if I didn't train with my bokken Sasuke, I would end up cutting my arm off." Naruto informed him with a smile. He gripped his sword proudly. "This sword was a gift from Shisui before he died. He set up my graduation gift for me years ago out. My graduation gift also came with a shirasaya sword as well."

Sasuke turned dead quiet for a moment. "I see, so he was the one that gave to you that sword." Sasuke muttered as Naruto nodded.

"Of course, I have a letter that came with it, but I put it up for safekeeping." Naruto informed him. "By the way do you have any idea what this orientation day is about. I assume it's for assignments, but I don't know anything about it."

Sasuke shrugged indifferently. "True, even the people I talk to on some basis doesn't say anything. I assume we are going to be assigned to the regular forces. If someone has potential in one area they will send them to a special division." Sasuke reasoned.

Naruto nodded. "True, or it could be some type of additional tests we have to take." Naruto muttered in annoyance. As the group of genin walked into the Academy to their classroom to see Iruka wasn't there yet. As several students were placing gifts on his desk for Iruka. Naruto pulled a ramen meal ticket for thirty bowls on his desk as Sasuke brushed by it. He saw painting of the class was done by Yakumo who many were studying it with fascination.

Naruto took his seat down in the first row as he saw Yakumo was sitting by Hinata and Honoka in the back. He gave a wave to her as she waved back to him. Naruto sat down in the first row by Tai. The boy looked excited for his upcoming assignment.

"I can't wait until we take some actual missions assignments? What do you think about all this, Naruto?" Tai asked him as Naruto shrugged.

"I know the Hokage personally and I still didn't get an answer from him." Naruto answered as he felt a noise come from outside the door. He sent out a quick pulse of his chakra to see who was it as he noticed Ino and Sakura were racing here.

He turned towards the door to see it slide open. The two slid in together as Sakura shouted. "Ha! Take that Ino-pig, I got here first!" as the two argued as Naruto sighed.

Sakura started to rush down towards Sasuke's seat trying to gain his favor. As the rest of his little fan club were up in arms about this all together.

Tai frowned. "Why do girls like him? He doesn't even like them back." Tai muttered.

"Well I know not every girl in this class likes him, but overall the consensus I heard from Yakumo is the fact he looks okay for a boy, but has some mature personality." Naruto relayed the information to Tai. "It won't matter much seeing we are going to be split up anyway."

"I am beginning to wonder if Sasuke is gay." Tai muttered as the classroom went silent as the girls looked around with anger.

"Who ever said that is a lie, Sasuke isn't gay!" Someone shouted as Sasuke looked around with a frown.

Naruto waved it off. "It must be your imagination, no one can hear anything over the sounds of you all yelling and screaming." Naruto told them. "Still, I think you all feel ashamed you call yourself kunoichi making the real ones look bad. This is our last day together as actual Genin, instead of being Academy students. So could you all sit down and chill."

"Well said Naruto." Iruka said as he entered the classroom. He gave a smile as he noticed the gifts on the desk. He walked into the room holding a clipboard in hand as he shut the door behind him. He walked casually over to the front of the class to address them properly. "You're all as of this day forward official shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. You all will be expected to carry out your missions' to the best of your ability for your home and comrades. I just want to say that I am proud of you all and I wish you all luck in your future as ninja and kunoichi of our village." He gave a short speech as he cleared his throat for a moment, "Now I'm going to begin with the announcement of the squads' formed during your tenure as genin."

As this got the attention of everyone genin in the room. As Iruka began listing off teams' to everyone as the group listened as the two first teams' groaned in who their team was formed around.

Iruka continued listing off names of the clipboard. "Team 3 will be Honoka Inari, Yakumo Kurama, and Naruto Uzumaki. Your instructor will be Yamato." he announced as Naruto nodded his head with a smile. Iruka continued on with his list.

"Team 7 will be Tai Kamiya, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Your instructor will be Hatake Kakashi." as Tai slammed his head on the desk.

"Damn it!" Tai muttered.

"Shannaro! Sakura exclaimed hearing her team, "Take that Ino-pig! True love conquers all!"

As the group of girls' groaned as Ino placed her hand her cheek in dejected fashion, while Sakura celebrated. Sakura turned towards Sakura turned to Sasuke with a beaming smile. "Now we'll be on the same team Sasuke-kun, isn't that great?"

"Hn," was the stoic's genin's response.

Naruto was torn between laughing for Sasuke or feeling sorry for Tai for being on their team.

"Team 8 will Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Your instructor will be Yuhi Kurenai." he announced as Yakumo frowned.

"That woman is a teacher… I can hardly believe it." She muttered as Hinata caught onto her words as Iruka announced was Team 9 was in circulation.

"Team 10 will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Chouji Akimichi." he announced as he put his clipboard down.

"I got a lazy bum and one that eats too much." Ino sighed dejectedly.

"And that's all for now." Iruka concluded as several hands shot up.

"Iruka-sensei, how are these squads' picked?" Tai asked him as Iruka sighed knowing this was going to come.

"If you are wondering who picked them, then it wasn't me, it was the Hokage that picked these teams'. We try to balance the teams' so they would have a variety of skills." Iruka lectured them as he quickly finished to avoid new questions. "Now that is out the way, you will be picked up by your respective Jonin sensei after lunch. Until then get together with your team, get to know them a bit more, and good luck to you all you will need it." Iruka spared a glance towards the class one more last time.

"Alright, Shikamaru and Choji with me!" Ino ordered the two as Shikamaru sighed. Choji was still busy munching on his potato chips. The two followed her out the room in a slow pace.

Tai groaned as he looked over to his team. "I might as well get it out the way. Hey Sasuke, Sakura, you want to eat together." Tai asked them.

Sakura turned towards him angrily. "Why would I eat with you, besides that I am on diet?" She told him off.

Tai shrugged. "Well if you are on diet that's your thing, but I never heard of a shinobi's going on a diet. Besides that I brought extra food along like rice balls." Tai offered knowing Sasuke a bit.

"Fine," Sasuke admitted as he know that if he didn't do it. Sakura will keep pestering for a date. Sakura looked dejected of her attempt of having a date with Sasuke alone.

Naruto got up from his seat smiling as Yakumo met him clapping hands. "We are on a team together!" They both cheered as Honoka watched the scene before them. Naruto turned towards Honoka.

"Is she one of your friends' Yakumo?" Naruto asked he as she nodded.

"Of course, she is one of the few girls not in this class crazy about Sasuke. This is Honoka, Naruto and Naruto, this is Honoka." Yakumo greeted them.

As the two shook hands together. "It's nice to meet you too Naruto-kun and thank you for welcoming on the team." She bashfully greeted herself.

Naruto nodded. "Since we know each other, how about you pick out the place to eat today." Naruto suggested as the girl nodded.

"Okay… um how about the top of the roof then." She suggested as the two nodded in satisfaction." The three walked out the classroom and headed towards the roof.

.X.

Meanwhile in the office as several Jonin's stood around the crystal ball watching now.

"So the teams are final now, and Kakashi is still nowhere to be seen yet." Sarutobi noticed as he knew the silver-haired man was at the memorial stone. "You can take the time to study their behavior with their team during the break. Hopefully you will have a test up that can determined if they are ready for such a thing."

Yamato sighed. "I might as well go grab senpai before he arrives late to the meeting. I know he would make people wait for hours on end if the task wasn't important." Yamato pointed out.

Sarutobi nodded. "I know a group of young genin will thank you for your efforts." He thanked Yamato as the man nodded. He saw the group if ninja disappear with a blur as he looked back down on his crystal ball. He watched how to group of genin's acting towards each other.

.X.

Team 3 sat on the group as large blanket was spread on the roof's top. Honoka looked over to see her two mates eating now. She was familiar with Yakumo seeing she was one of the few girls she talked to after that incident five years ago. She visited her for her whole stay at the hospital. She was a motivated kunoichi that strove to make it to the top of the class despite her physical physique. Sakura may had the best written score in the class, but overall Yakumo had the better score all around with an excellent high practical score. She would constantly help Hinata and her do their best in class together.

Naruto on the other was another thing altogether. He was completely opposite from Sasuke all together in general. He didn't have a mean bone in his body and he was very helpful to several people over the years. He helped Yakumo joined the Academy getting Shikamaru's and Choji's to help them. Overall he was more easy going type of person, despite the fact he took his dream seriously.

Naruto finally finished eating his Ichiraku ramen that he stored the previous day in his scroll. He had finished four deluxe bowls of ramen single handily as he quickly cleaned up. He was so psyched up to at least have a team he knew and enjoyed being with. He was going over his weapon maintenance as he wondered what the Jonin-sensei was like.

Yakumo sat down calmly as she noticed Team 8 was sitting under a tree eating. She had no problems' with her teammates at all. A familiar voice called out to the back of her mind. Kurenai was teaching a genin team and she failed teaching her anything many years ago. She wondered if Team 8 will be ready for a teacher who already failed one person in the past.

Honoka was the first to say something after eating her whipped cream puffs. "By the way who is the team leader?" She asked them as they both stopped.

Naruto cocked his head for a moment. "Well it's up to Yamato-sensei in the end, he is the only person qualified to make such a decision. Overall I think being leader will be like Hokage jiji's job. You will have to make difficult decisions' each time and place your trust in each other." Naruto informed them as Yakumo nodded.

"I believe we all have all different strengths and weakness all together. I think we should start addressing them before something happens." Yakumo pointed out.

"Well I don't have many skills to speak from." Honoka told them as Yakumo bopped her on the head.

"You do have plenty of skill Honoka, it's just that these idiots in class don't realize it. You are one of the best hand to hand fighters in the class. I may not be like a walking battery like Naruto during physical exercise, but I can hold my own. I find out he doesn't get tired so easily during practice and he tends to recover the quickest." Yakumo pointed out.

"I suck at using genjutsu and a real subtle can easily can catch me off guard. I may be the rookie of the year, but I am not good at everything. So relax a bit Honoka-chan and let Yamato-sensei point us out in the right direction. That's the reason why he is the sensei teaching us since he has years of experience. If Shisui didn't talk to me when I was younger and change my habits. I don't I would be the rookie of the year, let alone met Yakumo." Naruto reassured her as she smiled.

"Okay," she agreed with a smile. "So what did you guys do over the week before orientation?"

"Well I spend time over at Shikamaru's house helping Yoshino out with house chores. As well do some extra training, it's called tree climbing." Naruto pointed out.

As Yakumo giggled. "Let me guess you are struggling with it." She pointed out as Naruto grumbled as Honoka couldn't help, but smile.

"Stupid chakra reserves they are so high that I can't do a single exercise without struggling." Naruto vented. "I bet you got in one go."

Yakumo nodded. "I did since I am genjutsu user. You will need to have spot chakra control to even use one properly." She proudly told him.

Honoka nodded. "Well I got on my first try to and I learned it from Ebisu-sensei." She told them.

"Ebisu-sensei, you mean the guy suppose to train Konohamaru in being a shinobi." Naruto remembered. "Well I can hardly see him teach anyone after seeing how Konohamaru run away from him."

Honoka giggled. "I take it Kono-chan is always bored with his lectures." Honoka pointed as Naruto nodded.

"Of course he even managed to track me down using my registration number. He wanted me to teach him instead of Ebisu. I taught him how to use the henge…" Naruto told them as Yakumo bopped him on the head.

"No you didn't you taught him that perverted Oiroke jutsu." she pointed out as Naruto smiled.

"Sexy jutsu?" Honoka curiously muttered.

Yakumo nodded. "Naruto has a funny way of pranking people when his mind wanders a bit. He developed the Orioke no jutsu to incapacitate perverts. He would transform and then make a bunshin then seal it away inside a tag of his. Then place it in the path of someone with their wife." Yakumo explained the story as Honoka giggled.

"See even she thinks it's funny, besides that it's not my fault they aren't interested in their wife or girlfriend." Naruto justified.

"Ha ha, very funny Naruto, but women are not sexual objects Naruto." Yakumo reminded him.

"True, but I believe that shop downtown that sells stuff like that degrades women and no one says a thing. Well except you placing a genjutsu on the whole shop. No one would enter the shop seeing them hit with their worse fear." Naruto pointed out as Yakumo blushed as Honoka laughed.

"They had it coming." She muttered as she turned her in embarrassment.

Honoka couldn't stop giggling. "You are guys are so funny." Honoka she told them.

"By the way since you are here Honoka? I always wanted to ask why do most the girls' in our class still try to chase Sasuke? I can only imagine…" Naruto stopped as he heard screams of outrage from below as a multitude of girls trying to ask Sasuke out to lunch.

Yakumo sighed as she saw Sasuke run as several girls' chased after him. "I hope they all get sent back to the Academy for that type of behavior. As much as I don't like that _women_ at least she is respectable kunoichi." Yakumo muttered with disgust.

Honoka hummed for a moment. She was trying to find out the answer for Naruto's question. "Well I think is has to do with it being a girl's first crush. That their experiences with Sasuke makes them feel like a woman. Another incentive is the fact Sasuke is the last Uchiha still left in Konoha that belongs to a famous clan. The girls in our class thinks Sasuke acting cool is another charming factor and he is playing hard to get. They act really shallow for the fact none of them know who he really is. He hasn't dated anyone so far, nor he holds interest then anything other than revenge." Honoka informed Naruto. "Still, from the guys' point of view you already know something is wrong with him. Even people like Tai are starting to question if he is gay."

Yakumo sighed. "True, but overall Sasuke shouldn't have never been sent back to the Academy that messed up. Some psychiatrist should have said no to the idea, but favoritism runs deep in our population. Naruto became the Rookie of the year and he got accused by Sasuke's little fan club for cheating." Yakumo pointed out.

Naruto nodded. "True if Sasuke has a problem communicating with people he will get kicked out the of the main force with ease. Jiji has rather fond tales about him working with people in the field." Naruto agreed.

Honoka spoke up. "Are you guys worried for him?" she asked him.

As the two nodded. "We are worried for him and at the same time for their teammates. Sasuke was never like this at all before the massacre. Afterwards he had never made any connection with anyone. If a mission assignment go awry and his teammates are down. What would happen to Tai and Sakura?" Yakumo fearfully admitted. "I know for a fact Sakura only got a good score in the Academy due to her academics. She doesn't have any physical skills besides the bare basics. It's due to her having a civilian background and she isn't taking seriously. Tai comes from the same background, but he gets training by a veteran shinobi on the side. The fact he has tried to balance out his home life with the Academy was a struggle for him."

Naruto nodded. "Whoever Hatake Kakashi, I hope he keeps a real good eye on him." Naruto added as he set his Aka no Shi on his lap. "Well it's out of our hands now, we will have to let him be for now. And focus our effort as a team, right."

Yakumo and Honoka nodded. "Yep we are a team, now."

.X.

Lunch ended as newly graduated genin filed back inside the classroom to find that a group of adults already waiting on them. Several teams like Group 3, 8, and 10 sat in a group together unlike the rest of their colleagues. After everyone entered the class, Iruka took the front of the class again.

"Alright everyone." Iruka started, "The men and women standing before you are your jonin-sensei for your duration as genin. Remember to work hard and remember everything you've learned at the academy." With that said, the Jonin started going down the line until it got to team 3.

"Team 3?" Yamato addressed his students as their eyes. "I'm your Jonin instructor, Yamato. Can you please follow me?"

Naruto, Honoka, and Yakumo stood up and waved giving their goodbyes and giving good luck to the other teams. Naruto looked at the man and studied him a bit more carefully. He carried the look a bit like the second Hokage as Honoka spoke first to him. "Um, sensei, do you have a last name?" she politely asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "I did at one time, but I forgot it due to me losing my memory when I was young." he answered them.

Three understood that theory easy, but they wondered where they were going to. "Where are we going by the way?" Yakumo asked them as the exited the academy.

"We are heading towards Training field 28 and then I will explain something to you when we get there." Yamato explained.

Naruto's questions were answered already as he didn't have nothing to say at all for the time being.

The newly minted Team 3 kept following their Jonin commander as he walked them all the way to the training field where we instructed them to sit down in the grass under the shade of the tree, while Yamato sat down on a stone. The three sat down on the ground together as he crossed his arms looking at them.

He could see Naruto was excited and yet motivated as he tried to hide. The two kunoichi were just as determined as him.

"From this day forward, I will be your jonin-sensei. You will train under me, take missions under me, and I will be responsible for your well beings from this point forward." He saw their faces with the information as he gave a small smirk. "Well if you pass my test if that is."

He added as the group looked in confusion as Yakumo cocked her head. "Wait I thought we already pass the test to become genin. We just got through graduation didn't we?"

Yamato chuckled. "Come on. Anyone can reel of a memorized test answers and crank out the most basic jutsu. Even you yourself Yakumo should know that answer, you don't consider Sakura as a real kunoichi for just having a high grade in academics." Yamato pointed out as she looked pouted.

Naruto and Honoka looked a bit nervous now as Naruto spoke up. "I am guessing this is to weed out the ones not fit to be a shinobi." Naruto he theorized.

Yamato nodded. "Of course, Jonin-sensei's like me will scout out prospective candidates' that actually have a real potential of being ninja. The truth is that there's a 66% average failure rate for kids your age."

Naruto groaned. "So that is why no one said a thing about it even jiji didn't say anything about it." Naruto grunted.

"Well there is another way, but it's a rare case all together to become a ninja is through a sponsored apprenticeship. Most shinobi really don't have the time to do that, unless they are interested from in the start." Yamato explained.

"What happens to the people that fail the test?" Honoka asked Yamato as the other two cringed at the thought.

"Simple, I get to decide to who goes and who doesn't. Simply put I will only take one person and fail the others if they don't show any promise at all. I can either drop them all out of the program altogether itself. The alternative can happen if you show promising results to me or I will send you back to the Academy. I only want the best out of this group."

"So… what happens now?" Honoka curiously asked him.

Yamato started walking away, "Meet me back here in three hours. In that time come up with, which out of you all is worthy becoming a genin." with that Yamato vanished from the field leaving them bewildered.

.X.

(Meanwhile at the Academy)

The only team in the room was team 7, who were increasingly agitated by the wait of their sensei. Sasuke and Sakura looked absolutely bored and could actually be doing some stuff with their time. Tai was reading a large cookbook to bide his time, though he had a few dozen pages left.

The door finally slid open, "Sorry, I'm late a black cat cross my path and I had to take the long way here." Kakashi excused himself as he opened his eye and looked at them, "Hmm, my first impression of this group: You are all not quite what I expecting. Meet me on the roof in five minutes." with that he vanished in a puff of smoke.

The faces twisted up in confusion upon hearing the man's word as the tried processing his later words. Sakura turned towards her teammates. "What did he mean weren't what he expected?" she asked them.

Tai got up and placed his cookbook in his pocket. "I don't care about what he said, but we should make it up to roof before the five minutes up." Tai told them as he took it in stride. "Besides that, he finally now has a sense of urgency."

While Sasuke and Sakura sat there a bit puzzled by their sensei's words.

.X.

Naruto sat down calmly as his sword sat on his lap trying about the situation. As the others sat quietly as he tried making sense of why their sensei said that. He looked up at Honoka and Yakumo now.

"This is unfair, the Academy hypes you up for your ninja career, but only to to say the best candidates can only become ninja." Naruto muttered as the other two nodded.

"I know, and I can see why so many didn't go on with shinobi career last year. I know for a fact on a daily basis I see at least three teams passed last year." Yakumo added.

"We came so far, only to be shut down by this." Honoka muttered as Naruto frowned.

"True, all of this hard work from all of us and he is making us choose, which should be it…" Naruto stopped for a moment. "Wait a minute, do anyone have a family member who shared stories of being a genin?"

Honoka nodded. "Of course, my sister was paired up with Tenma and Itachi before she quit." She told him catching their attention.

Yakumo picked it up. "I see what you mean Naruto, this is a test itself." She noticed as Honoka looked confused.

"A test of what?" She curiously asked her teammates.

"Well remember what Iruka-sensei said in class about the teams. A platoon of four or three is standard formation. There was a reason why we ran teamwork tests in the Academy. It was supposed to help us prepare to work together. However, the ones with no notion of teamwork or would never figure it out until it's too late." Naruto carefully explained.

Yakumo nodded in agreeance. "Of course, why make a full squad and then drop a squad members. Iruka-sensei said that the Hokage made these teams in mind, meaning it was not meant to be just one person. Still, they have to give out these secondary tests to help weed out candidates that don't make their criteria.".

So Honoka touched the bottom of her lip. "So we have to work together to prove we are ready to become a ninja?" She asked as they both nodded. "He is a Jonin and we are just genin in rank. How can we even beat him?"

Naruto shrugged. "We weren't suppose to do it alone and I know that for a fact. I think another part of the test is to stand up to him. No one would want shinobi's that would fold so easily." Naruto pointed out as they nodded.

"Then we need to set up a trap for him then." Yakumo asked him as Naruto nodded.

"Of course, but we will need a little tricky to get him into position. We may not know how strong he is, but we can at least set up an ambush. Does anyone have an elemental jutsu we can use besides me?" Naruto asked her.

Honoka nodded. "I know a bit of fire techniques." she answered as Naruto smirked.

.X.

 _(Training field 28)_

"Even after I told Kakashi-senpai about the meeting and picking up his genin team. He still came three hours late just in spite of them. Since it's been three hours now I wonder who cracked under the pressure.." Yamato muttered as he made his way towards the field as she saw all three of them sitting under the tree a with a nervous looks on their faces. He walked over to them with his arms crossed. "So have you all decided, which of you are going to be my apprentice civilly or I will fail all of you."

Naruto was the first one to stand up. "I don't think so, you aren't going to send anyone back to the Academy. We came so far and you want to kill our dreams like that?" Naruto protested placing his hand on his sword.

"So we are going to offer a counter demand, pass us." Yakumo ordered.

"We don't want to hurt you sensei, but we don't want to be left behind." Honoka told him.

Yamato chuckled for a moment. "I see so you want to pass using force, but freshly minted genin don't pose much of a challenge." Yamato gave off a creepy face making them gulp.

Naruto turned to Yakumo. "Yakumo now!" Naruto shouted. As a wire ripped through the field catching Yamato off guard for a moment as the wire almost caught his feet as he jumped on it to see a labyrinth of wire around the field. He saw the clones phased out with ease.

"Genjutsu on a bunshin!" Yamato shouted. _"No genin should know the concept of that it's usually high level chunin rank skill. So they used the tree to make sure I didn't pick up on it. Then they are trying to use the wire to trap me. It's still basic in concept…"_ Yamato thought as he saw Honoka jump to the outside the trap. He saw her go through four seals as he saw Ebisu teach her the other day.

"Katon: Kasumi enbu no jutsu!" Kasumi as she breathed out a flammable gas covering the area. He heard a sizzling sound going off below him as he saw paper tags."

"Damn..." Yamato muttered.

As a huge explosion rocketed the area as fire filled the sky as Honoka watched in horror seeing her sensei burning.

"Honoka, he is behind you!" Naruto shouted as she turned to see him coming from behind her. As a puff of smoke appeared before him as he saw Naruto appear in her stead. He engaged him in taijutsu fight.

"My my you guys are full of surprises, that trap and a replacement with your teammate was flawless." Yamato complimented them. He was easily blocking Naruto's attacks with ease. He punched him under the chin to see it pop before him as huge gust of wind knocked him back surprising him. "Kaze Bunshin."

He saw Yakumo come from the side throwing shuriken at him. "Gen'ei Tajū Shuriken (Multiple Phantom shuriken)!" she shouted going through the seals. As the shuriken looked like a hail of shuriken as Yamato quickly dispelled the illusion.

"You will have to do better than that Yakumo, I don't need my hands to dispel a genjutsu!" He shouted as she grunted.

As he saw two shuriken was aimed high on his left and one low on his right. As a puff of smoke appeared as Naruto spun with a kick as Honoka appeared with the other. Yamato blocked the kick as he grunted from the force. As he tried throwing Naruto away, but Honoka punched low in return.

Yamato jumped back and slammed Naruto into her knocking them both to the ground. "Shit!" Naruto shouted.

"Not bad you guys…" Yamato told them as he heard the sound of wheel grinding. He felt wire around his body as he saw it tightened around him.

"A double layered genjutsu, I should have know. I only dispelled the ones around the shuriken, but I am guessing your time with Kurenai meant something at least." Yamato muttered.

Naruto and Honoka looked up to see it was a wooden dummy as their eyes looked in fear. "Yakumo, he used a kawarimi!" Honoka shouted as Naruto pulsed his chakra. He looked over to the tree where they stood hours early.

He heard a slow clap from Yamato who was sitting in the tree. "Excellent teamwork and use of the skills you have, but that was slow. However, I wouldn't take on students I didn't know. I knew all the jutsu you know along with your weapons." Yamato explained as they panted and sighed in frustration.

"He only used the Kawarimi twice in our whole fight. We even used genjutsu to throw him off balance three times." Yakumo muttered.

"That is because you are still graduates at genin level. Still, I am surprised you used a genjutsu clone, where did you come up with that." he asked.

"Shisui was the one who left it in his notes, though I am no good with genjutsu. I knew Yakumo could do it to our clones." Naruto smile brightly explaining it to him.

Yamato nodded. "I see… you guys passed."

As the three of them blinked in surprise as they stood out of the fighting stances with confused looks.

"Um, what?" Naruto said conveying their thoughts together.

"Yeah you guys passed and you knew the meaning of the test." Yamato explained. "The purpose behind the test was too see if you would turn on yourselves or stand up in fight me together."

"Why would you make a test like that?" Honoka curiously asked their sensei.

Yamato quickly answered. "Simple, real comrades and friends don't abandon each other when things get tough. Konoha has placed a big emphasis of working together with others over the years to help with our shortcomings. An example right here is the fact Yakumo is the only that can cast or realize advance genjutsu being placed. Yakumo, and you Honoka are not good in front engagements so Naruto took your place. Honoka you set up the means for a good ambush." Yamato lectured them.

"I see, so that is why so many fail. They don't realize the test was never meant to be taken alone." Yakumo pointed out as Yamato nodded.

"Overall every test given by a Jonin incorporates the value of teamwork into them in some form. It doesn't matter if you don't have awe inspiring skills, but the determination to see it through." Yamato explained. "I am not going to lie to you all, but being a shinobi is hard. You might see death or worse along this job. I know for a fact that Honoka's cousin, Shinko knows this all too well."

Honoka flinched as Yakumo and Naruto looked at him. "I knew that this might be a difficult process, but Shisui didn't want me to give up when he died. Of course there might be bad days, but with you here you can realize our shortcomings, right." Naruto elaborated as Yamato gave a quick nod..

"Do you guys feel you are ready for the job?" Yamato asked them as they nodded.

"Of course, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Shisui too as well." Yakumo agreed.

Honoka nodded. "I know, what my sister has gone through, but I think I'm ready for it." Honoka answered as Yamato nodded.

"Well that settles it, Team 3 meet me back here tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp for your actual first actual day as genin. I will stay here for a bit fix the giant crater in the ground you guys made." Yamato told them.

As the group scratched their heads in embarrassment. "Sorry Yamato-sensei." the three apologized as they bowed.

Yamato waved it off. "Don't worry about it, I can fix the damage with ease. Enjoy the rest of the day off you three you earned it." Yamato told them.

"I am going to tell my sister that I pass then go on to hot springs to go for a dip."

"I am going to tell my mother and dad that I passed the test." Yakumo happily told them as they walked along.

"Were finally ninja now, and it's step to becoming Hokage!" Naruto shouted happily as the group walked along back to town a bit tired.

Yamato slammed his hands together making a snake hand seal. The ground remodeled itself back it's original shape as grass grew there. Yamato relaxed as he turned to towards the Hokage tower.

"I might as well report to the Hokage on my the team." Yamato muttered as he disappeared with leaving smoke trail.

.X.

Hiruzen glanced over his reports he was getting he was knew the candidates were small again, which was not good overall. As most of his Jonin-sensei's failed their students except for Kurenai and Asuma. Kakashi had opted on testing them tomorrow as he waited for his last Jonin-sensei to come.

As he heard a knock on the door now. "Come in." Sarutobi told him as he noticed Yamato come in.

"Sorry that I am late Hokage-sama, I had to write up a report before coming here." Yamato apologized as he nodded. He walked up to to the man hiding his report

"Well I thought you would be taking a trip to the hosptial for someone after that giant explosion that lit up the sky in broad daylight." He reminded him as Yamato scratched his head in embarrassment.

"True, they had some good set up executions overall, but nothing I couldn't handle." Yamato explained.

"So they passed." Sarutobi guessed as Yamato nodded. "Tell me a bit about them."

Yamato nodded. "It seems that all three of them have been getting some extra training from someone outside the Academy. Yakumo had her parents teach her a few things. Ebisu has helped Honoka train over the past week, and Naruto has surprisingly was learning from Yoshino-san." Yamato reported.

"I see, so what can you tell me about Honoka in person then." Sarutobi curiously asked.

"Honoka is easily the nicest one out of the group and she gets along with people greatly. She has shown me she that she some talent in fire ninjutsu and potential of learning advance taijutsu. However, her stamina, speed, and chakra supplies need work. Yakumo Kurama on the other hand is quite talented using genjutsu casting and genjutsu on a clone, shuriken, and wires. She has a strategist mind set to go along with it. I haven't seen her taijutsu at all along with her ninjutsu. But I suspect that she will need to work on that." Yamato explained.

Sarutobi nodded. "What about Naruto then?"

"Naruto is confusing and surprising in a way. He has a good move set all together and he can function in multiple areas like sensing, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and possible kenjutsu. He didn't try use kenjutsu when fighting me. I can say confidently he has a good grasps on the basics. He can even do sealing, but he doesn't know what to work with. He isn't specialized in anything, yet. Still it's safe say he made a unique jutsu called the Kaze bunshin."

"Kaze Bunshin?" Sarutobi muttered as he began flipping through his personal ninjutsu registry book. He looked it up from the data banks under bunshin. "Well it seems like Naruto has made an original jutsu. Confining wind into a clone is hard alone due to its wild nature along with fire. It's safer to go with water, and stone since it's most stable." Sarutobi explained.

"Naruto isn't good with genjutsu, but he knows how to break a simple one.. He will caught in one with ease if he fought Yakumo seriously. The boy has a lot of potential, but he has been stuck on the basic level for a long time. I have no doubt it's to help restrict him from going overboard." Yamato told him.

Sarutobi nodded. "Of course, the last thing we need is children prodigy being messed up in the head. I am guessing you are starting your mission assignments tomorrow."

Yamato nodded with a smile. "Did Kakashi-senpai fail his team or pass it?"

Sarutobi gave a small shrug. "Not yet, he has decided to give me the results to his test tomorrow at noon I believe." Sarutobi explained as he stored the stack of papers away in a seal. "I will hold onto these papers and place them into their files very soon."

Yamato nodded as he quickly vanished from sight.

.X.

 _(The next day)_

Yamato sat there sitting on a rock as he looked over his notes. He saw his genin had arrived here with good time and with some to spare. He noticed them were all dressed for training as he nodded.

"It's good you all arrive here early then the expected. It's good to have some punctuality if we were to have a client asking us for a mission." Yamato explained.

"Good morning Yamato-sensei." the three greeted him as they sat down.

Honoka smiled cheerily. "So what are we going to do today?" Honoka asked him.

Yamato looked at them. "Since yesterday was a bit of touch and go. How about we introduce ourselves properly this time and talk about the skills you all have?" Yamato advised.

"I will start it off first to give you an all an idea of idea of how this works. My name is Yamato, and I have been a Jonin for only a short amount of time. I worked anbu for over ten years before I was asked to retire. I enjoy making others happy and helping them, as well architecture. I have dislikes on bullying and the ignorant. Finally I hope teaching you and making you into the best shinobi you can be." he introduced himself as they nodded making note of his hobby.

Yamato turned towards Honoka now. "I'm a Honoka Inari, I want to prove that even people from regular families can be splendid shinobi's and reach a rank of Jonin. I like watching martial arts fights, relaxing in the onsen, and movie films especially on Fuun-hime. I dislike people who don't understand other people's feelings." She introduced herself.

Yamato looked over to Yakumo and nodded.

My name is Yakumo Kurama, and I have the dream of making genjutsu famous as well become a Jonin as well restore my clan home. I like painting, swimming, and aroma therapy. I dislike arrogant who step over others for their own goals." Yakumo told him.

Yamato looked over to see Naruto was twitching a bit waiting for his turn. "The name is Naruto Uzumaki, and my dream is to become Hokage as well master Fuinjutsu. I like cooking, gardening, calligraphy, and ramen. My dislikes I don't have many, but it would be those who underestimate people's potentials." Naruto explained.

Yamato nodded. "So since we have a good grasp on each other. What jutsu's elements do you have? I primarily use water and earth, despite me having another element?" Yamato explained.

"I have no elemental jutsu's at all, I mainly employ genjutsu." She admitted.

Honoka raised up her hand. "Well I employ fire jutsu." She added.

Naruto counted three fingers. "I know only three elemental jutsu, wind, water, and earth." Naruto explained.

Yamato nodded as he then took out a few pieces of paper from his pouch. "I see, but do you know that sometimes you might not be using the element that you is easy for you." Yamato explained confusing them.

"Wrong element?" they muttered as he handed out them as they looked at the piece of paper.

"What are these?" Honoka curiously asked Yamato.

"These are chakra paper's and they can help find you elemental affinity." he explained as he pressed chakra into his paper. Half of it turned crumbled and the other was soggy. Then it turned wooden before them confusing them as Yamato laughed a bit.

"I have three affinities, which you can see. When it crumbles it's earth and when it's soggy it's water.

"Then why did yours turned into wood?" Yakumo asked him.

Naruto cocked his head for a moment. "Then Yamato-sensei has the Mokuton ability, are you related to the first hokage." Naruto surmised as Yamato shrugged.

"I am not related to the Shodaime directly, but I have the ability to use Mokuton. However my ability using it pales in comparison to the Shodaime. So before all of you get excited about this information I will not be teaching nature manipulation. This is only for a reference and I can teach you guys elemental jutsu. Now push your chakra into your paper." Yamato informed them as they nodded.

Honoka was the first as they saw most of the paper turned to ashes and a part of it crumbled.

"Honoka, you have a primary affinity to fire and a minor to earth jutsu, nice. You will have a combination of good defense and offensive." Yamato patted her on the head as she smiled.

Yakumo went next to see the paper crinkled up as she looked in confusion. "What element is this?" She asked.

"Lightning, just like my senpai's nature. Is very offensive type of element known for its destructive capabilities. This would greatly help you offensive capabilities." Yamato told her.

She nodded as he turned to Naruto who was holding a split piece of paper in his hand shocking him. "I am guessing this is wind." Naruto guessed as Yamato nodded.

"You are correct that this would make you the only third wind user in Konoha, right now. It's a very battle oriented element that can do defense, offensive, and supplementary techniques. It's capabilities are at it's greatest in short to mid-range." Yamato explained.

"If Naruto is a wind user, who are other two users in Konoha, right now?" Honoka asked.

"One is Asuma-san who is the Hokage's son who has a primary affinity for it. The other one is the Hokage who has managed to master the wind elemental chakra over the years through hard work. Out of every shinobi in Konoha we very many fire, water, and earth. We have very few lightning users, and wind is the minority here." he explained as they nodded.

"So what type of training are we going to do today?" Yakumo asked as he smirked.

"We all start with a warm up, which can be up to twenty minutes or an hour depending. Then we will do some group training. This may include teamwork, chakra control, jutsu's and etc if it uses teamwork. Then I will make two clones and then I will proceed to work on you one-on-one. Then we will proceed to the tower and see if there are any missions left to take." Yamato explained as the nodded.

"Okay let's get started then!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically as Yamato tossed something else to them. Be sure to wear these before we start when we when train." Yamato explained.

Yakumo and Honoka put on these white bands around their arms and legs. Naruto looked curiously at the word weight in the seal.

"Why does it say weight on here?" Naruto asked as the other looked on with curiosity.

"Well they help add some resistance training to your bodies. For example you girls' don't want to appear like muscle-bound women with no grace or seals help increase induce muscle contraction, which builds strength, skeletal growth, and endurance." Yamato explained as Naruto slipped them on. As Yamato made a half ram seal. The three felt the bands on their limbs gained some weight to them. "Now I am going to start you off with fifty laps, 100 hundred pushups, and then sit-ups."

He told them as the looked at him with shock. "Fifty laps?" Honoka asked him.

Yamato nodded. "You guys want to be the best so you will have to put in the effort for it. I want you to go full speed and don't stop otherwise." Yamato said as he twirled out his kunai from his pouch. "Otherwise I will throw these at you."

The three gulped at this as they nodded. "Yes Yamato-sensei!" they shouted.

.X.

As the group huffed as the basic training exercise started okay, but it turned straight into hell for the three genin. Naruto was using the back of a tree to hold himself up to breathe. Yakumo and Honoka were lying flat on their backs panting hard.

"My arms and legs burn…" Honoka muttered.

"I know…" Yakumo agreed trying to breathe.

"Y-yamato-sensei, did you have to do this before?" Naruto asked trying to breathe as the man nodded.

"Of course, my senpai made it worse than this when he trained me. Yet, I know another Jonin-sensei named Gai that does worse than this? So be lucky you don't have him as a teacher otherwise you will be doing exercises from 5 in the morning until 7 in the evening." Yamato reminded them.

"Since Yakumo and Honoka has mastered the tree climbing technique. What stage are you at during your training Naruto?" Yamato asked him.

"I don't fall off anymore." Naruto proudly him as he nodded.

"Very good, then I want you all to walk up to the under branch of the tree and hold there until I say otherwise." Yamato told them.

"Huh that's it?" Naruto asked him as Yamato nodded.

"I will ask you a do a bit of something else after a while." Yamato told them as the three genin ran up the tree and walked the underside of the branch. As they held their position as Yamato took out a stopwatch to time them again.

The three had no clue how hard this way as Yamato sat down taking out his notebook and pen.

.X.

Once again after the exercise, the the two girls' were lying on the ground again. Naruto was on his knees using his sword to try prop himself up. He struggled to get off the ground as he panted.

"I am guessing this simulates battle…" Naruto gasped as Yamato nodded.

"At least someone is understanding why I am putting you through this type of training." Yamato pointed out. "In the middle of battle you don't know when you are going to get a break. When you are tired your chakra control bounces everywhere and makes it hard to use the proper amount for a jutsu." Yamato lectured them.

"This hurts…" Honoka muttered.

Yamato nodded as he looked at them. "Can you please stand up to some extent, while I explain something to you all?" Yamato asked the two kunoichi. Yakumo and Honoka struggled to sit on their knees.

"Yes sensei…" the both muttered.

"Do you know how teams' are formed in the Academy?" he asked them getting confused looks for a moment.

"The Hokage decides the teams, right?" Naruto muttered as Yamato nodded.

"The teams are designed to be balanced out. This helps ensures a variety of skills get on each team. For instance Naruto being the Rookie of the year with one of the highest grades. Yakumo had one of the highest scores as the kunoichi in class." Yamato explained as Honoka lowered the head.

"And I am dead average kunoichi in the class." she muttered in disappointment.

"I doubt that is correct Honoka, out of the girls in the classroom you had one of the taijutsu's score amongst the girls' in the class. Your chakra reserves aren't big enough to pull off multiple ninjutsu like Naruto. Most of the girls' your age scored varied in areas, but many of them have high written scores." Yamato explained panting her as she smiled.

"Is there anything else we should know about teams?" Yakumo asked their sensei.

Yamato nodded. "What type of skills do team 8 and team 10 have?"

"Team 8 has people that can track their opponents. Hinata has the Byakugan, Kiba has a ninken and a strong sense of smell, and Shino has his bugs which can track as well." Yakumo noticed as Yamato nodded.

As Honoka quickly answered. "Well team 10 all can use secret ninjutsu."

Yamato nodded. "Correct, each time has a variety of skills that compliment or help with the shortcomings of a team. However some of the teams have a theme to them?" Yamato explained leaving them a bit curious.

"What about team 7's composition?" Yakumo asked as Yamato nodded.

"Sasuke is more orientated towards Ninjutsu overall and Tai takes on the physical aspect for their team. He has some ninjutsu under his belt, but overall with Sasuke's potential to awaken the Sharingan it will outclass him in that aspect."

"Then what about Sakura she only got through with studying alone?" Honoka worriedly asked her sensei.

Yamato nodded knowing that fact. "True above all else she is average in almost every area, except academic scores. She would have the hardest time coping with the shinobi life. The fact she was even dieting is very detrimental to career. I know with some confidence that she will at least have the potential to become a good kunoichi. The Hokage has hope that the two would bring it out of her and become serious like you two." Yamato explained as eyes landed on the girls.

"Then what about our team focus?" Yakumo wondered as Yamato crossed his arms.

Yamato quickly replied. "Team 7 was meant to act as an assault team, but Team 3 is a bit different then most. All of your skills are quite diverse compared to your classmates. Take for instance Naruto, he has a bit of everything along the lines of becoming a shinobi. Yakumo has vast knowledge in using genjutsu, yet she doesn't go forward with learning ninjutsu and taijutsu unlike Honoka."

"Overall we are a general team with certain extremes in different areas?" Naruto surmised as Yamato waved it off.

"Don't knock of the idea of having a good foundation, people that lack in certain areas can get killed with ease. So ask yourself again what skills do you bring to team that gives it composition?" Yamato asked them in return.

Yakumo nodded. "Being a genjutsu user your chakra has to be the very advance to catch people off guard. It can branch out towards interrogation, medical ninjutsu, and assassination." Yakumo explained.

Honoka spoke up now. "I only bring taijutsu and ninjutsu." she added.

Yamato nodded. "True, but it's assault orientated skills for a strike team. Naruto is also geared towards assault in many way, but he has shown in the past he can infiltrate secure buildings." Yamato lectured them.

"Okay, but are we going to learn anything else today?" Naruto curiously asked.

Yamato nodded. "The first thing we will work is the use of escape techniques, evasion tactics and team formations." Yamato explained confusing them.

"Escape and evasion tactics?" Naruto muttered with curiosity.

"Correct, sometimes I will not be there to help you and who knows when you will confront a dangerous enemies. Genin's are often killed the fastest, because they don't air a voice of caution. Some tend to go ahead of the group and get caught in trap or ambush. Other use ninjutsu off the bat and then the enemy uses a quick replacement making their efforts' wasted." Yamato warned them as the group frowned.

"What is the worst thing that can happen to a genin overall?" Yakumo asked him.

Yamato frowned. "You best hope death is the your first option, otherwise something worse can happen." Yamato warned them as the girls' gulped in fear. "Since we are the subject, did Suzume-sensei teach you about the dangers of being caught."

The girls nodded. "My parents made sure I knew that before I went to the academy." Yakumo told them.

"I asked my cousin and several kunoichi I meet in the bathhouse about what to do in those situations." Honoka told him as Yamato nodded.

"Good then we can start with training then."

As Yamato took the time to explain to the three how to remain undetected. How to erase their own tracks, avoid attracting attention, using chakra to not bend the grass, navigation at speed, and hiding the chakra.

However Naruto was the more akin to the lesson, since he knew how to hide his chakra. It took a good two hours to go over it as Yamato made sure they knew the material.

He looked at the sun to see it was overhead now. "Well team training is done, but I was hoping to get you to work on individual training." Yamato muttered. "We will take a mission at the Hokage's mission desk now before it get's too late."

.X.

Naruto's eyes twitched as he looked at the sight before him that was called a mission. Yakumo felt irritated by the fact what was going on as Honoka looked on in confusion.

The hot-pink haired girl looked at their sensei. "Yamato-sensei, why do you call this a mission, when it's a chore." she asked as she stared at a garden filled with weeds.

Naruto sighed as he unraveled a scroll with garden supplies. "Yeah, I want to know why they call them missions why they aren't!" Naruto shouted in irritation.

Yamato chuckled for a moment. "True, but genins' starting out will never understand why D-ranks are so important?" Yamato told them.

As Naruto released his personal gardening tools and supplies. Naruto told them them hold back as he began salting the walkway with salt and vinegar to. He grabbed the garden hose and began to water everything down.

"Why are they important? I thought we would do some real ninja work like surveillance or scouting?" Yakumo emphasized.

Naruto soon gave them the okay to enter the garden as Yamato walked with them. Naruto was placing markers on the herbs to help avoid confusion.

"Overall D-ranks are to assure the people we are still humans' by nature. You do realize we kill in part of our profession." Yamato told them as they perked up while listening.

"Okay so D-ranks help them get accustomed to us." Honoka asked them as Yamato nodded with a smile.

"Seeing our faces help calm them down and understand we are here to help and serve. Whether it's big or small in nature we are there for them. Furthermore this helps promote teamwork skills and understanding your team's quirks." Yamato explained as they nodded.

"At least that makes sense, but shouldn't they tell us that before we start these missions." Naruto muttered as he began yanking weeds out the ground with ease with a small garden shovel. He showed the Yakumo the proper technique. Honoka was helping spray down the area where the weeds were pulled out with a chemical solution.

Honoka spoke now. "Sensei, is their anything you left out?"

"The last reason behind this is quite simple, but very important. What would happen if you sustain an injury during a mission? When you are unable to perform C-ranks and above D-ranks are there to help supplement your income. It also teaches you others skills and how to blend into civilian life in different aspects." Yamato explained.

Yakumo began disposing of the weeds into a disposable bag. "It's hidden as undercover work and babysitting itself would be considered like body guarding a fussy client." Yakumo realized as Yamato nodded.

"Now you are getting the picture now of why they are important. The last time I checked, Honoka can't live off her cousin's paycheck and Naruto will be making explosive notes for the team now instead of selling them. He will also need to pay for rent and for his personal projects." Yamato reminded Yakumo as she blushed.

"I know…" she muttered in embarrassment. Yamato pointed out her princess lifestyle.

It took the Team 3 only twenty minutes to get down with the mission using Naruto's knowledge. Naruto sealed back up his supplies into his scroll. As they saw the elderly client looking at the garden.

"My goodness, you certainly went all out with taking care of my garden didn't you." She told him.

Naruto nodded. "Of course, I knew the most about how to tend to a garden, since I have one on myself on my rooftop. I know a way to prevent weeds from growing crazy for a couple of weeks." Naruto explained.

She nodded looking around the garden with satisfaction. "It's good to know that someone knows how to tend a garden. You even tidied up my herbs as well." She happily told them as she handed Yamato the envelope. "Here go goes your reward and a bit of extra for going above and beyond.

Yamato nodded. "Thank you ma'am, for the generous offer, but we will move on to the next job." Yamato told her as he motioned his team to follow them. The group was lucky that didn't accumulate too much dirt on themselves.

.X.

Team 3 stood at the edge of the river as Naruto stood at the edge of the river as Yakumo and Honoka was diving for trash. They were placing trash into their bags as they swam along the river. Naruto felt a tug on the rop as Naruto reared back.

Junk began lifting out the river as he lifted the huge bags of trash from the river. He helped drained first before plopping them down on the ground. He saw Honoka and Yakumo surface from the water.

"Well this is refreshing, despite the junk on the river bed." Yakumo muttered swimming to the edge as Naruto felt left out.

"I don't get take a dip in the river.." Naruto asked him.

Honoka nodded. "You basically did all the work garden work yourself, Naruto-kun. We are just doing our part now." Honoka giggled as Naruto cocked his head.

"You know I better way of stopping the river water…" Naruto told him as Yamato bopped him on the head.

"No, I know for a fact you can use that doton jutsu and overflow the river." Yamato told him.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," Naruto muttered.

As they saw the two climb out the waters. "What jutsu was he going to use sensei?" Honoka asked him.

"Doton Doryuheki jutsu, is a b-rank technique that forms a wall of hardened mud. He just recently learned the jutsu and he isn't anywhere to mastering it." Yamato explained.

"Do you know all the jutsu we can do?" Yakumo asked him.

Yamato nodded. "Of course, I had to make sure you guys didn't know too many dangerous techniques. You three will all learn jutsu's that correspond with your element soon so be patient. I plan on letting Naruto master his new earth jutsu before he tries learning a new jutsu. Still, before I teach you anything too advanced you will need to know the next step of chakra control before this." Yamato explained.

Honoka quickly asked. "Why do we have to wait until we learn a jutsu?"

Yamato lifted up one finger. "The next exercise in question solves the problem of maintaining a jutsu like Grand Fire ball or Naruto's Mizurappa. Heck even Naruto's samurai sabre technique can get from it. For instance trying to learn a raiton jutsu requires a bit of each. Controlling an amount of chakra or you can amp up the strength of that jutsu." Yamato explained.

"You mean you can turn basic jutsu into a powerhouse technique?" Naruto asked.

"Wrong, you can minimize the chakra you can use for the technique and achieves it's maximum efficiency. With enough control you guys can cut down the number of hand seals you need to use for that jutsu." Yamato explained.

"So it becomes second nature to use our chakra, but makes us last longer in the field." Yakumo pointed out.

"Chakra control exercises help improve your reserves and I want to improve you girls reserve's first. Naruto on the other hands needs to improve his control. He tends to use too much chakra for a technique that needs little." Yamato lectured them.

The three nodded. "So what is the last mission sensei?" Honoka asked them.

Yamato pulled out the third scroll from his vest as he read it. "We deliver these documents to the gate guards for the next shift. They are implementing new changes to the security of the village." Yamato explained.

As the group nodded as Naruto sealed away the trash into the scroll.

.X.

Yamato and his team made their round to the gate as they headed towards the mission desk again. Yamato was explaining on how to write the mission as they were walking to the desk. He handed the three young gening example pages he wrote up early to give them a general idea what it was like.

He was explaining to them that it was simple since it only required ninja ID, team, number of members, assigned mission, rank, and several other things that went along the report. He gave them all one D-rank each to write up for practice as he overlooked the reports.

He could see the three genin's were frustrated by the fact it had to be very detailed. Though luckily they had an artist on the team that could help draw down the details in some areas like the client. Naruto had the best hand writing on the team and he had seen how the tower wrote reports.

It made it all the easier trying to sort out the paperwork when they walked to the desk. They Iruka-sensei sitting there as he gave a wave to them.

"I see you guys got a few missions done, how was it." Iruka asked them to see Yakumo and Naruto didn't like the lack of details about D-ranks. Honoka shook her head to the side.

"Iruka-sensei, they were hoping they would at least do something important." Honoka embarrassingly admitted as he gave a short chuckle.

"True, but everyone has done D-ranks before when they are genin you three. I have performed many d-ranks before I became a chunin, so if I got through it you can guys can too." Iruka lectured them

"Iruka-sensei, why didn't tell us that was going to happen?" Naruto complained. as the man shrugged.

"Well it's for tradition's sake every genin team seeing we take a picture of the team's expression secretly. Besides that do you think it's wise to rookie ninja on important missions and then fail them. What would it say to our other clients?" Iruka lectured.

The three dropped their heads in shame. "They would think we have terrible shinobi and they wouldn't dare hire us." Yakumo muttered.

Iruka nodded. "Yeah, but this also put into place to ensure genin's safety. You all have no real combat experience still and throwing you out there to fight enemy ninja is insane. Now that my lecture is up, let me see these mission reports." Iruka explained as the three handed him the mission reports to look over. He studied them carefully for accuracy. "So Yamato-san, you already making them write their reports already."

Yamato nodded. "It's best they get in the habit now, before someone asks them to rewrite a report one day. The higher the rank the more accuracy they will need to ensure someone doesn't run into the same problem in the future." Yamato told him as Iruka nodded.

"It's good to see you are actually teaching good habits to them beforehand." Iruka told them as he quickly wrote them their payment slips for them. He handed it off for the team as they took it graciously. "Be sure to cash this at the mission payment desk before you guys leave otherwise you will have to wait until tomorrow to cash it."

The group nodded and gave their regard as they headed down to the mission desk. Yamato saw a familiar face coming through the building. "Kakashi-senpai, I didn't think to catch you here at this time." Yamato greeted as Kakashi looked up from his book.

He gave a wave to him. "Yo Yamato, and I see you are with your genin team, huh." Kakashi greeted them.

"Senpai," the three muttered as Yamato nodded with a smile.

"Team 3, this is my senpai, Kakashi Hatake, senpai these are my students Yakumo Kurama, Honoka Inari, and Naruto Uzumaki." he introduced themselves.

The three gave a curt bow. "It's nice to meet you Kakashi-san." the greeted him as the man smiled.

"Nice to meet you guys too." He greeted and then sighed. "I wish my genin team was cute at yours."

Yamato looked up in surprise. "You actually passed a genin team this time around?" he incredibly asked as Kakashi nodded.

"They managed to get pass my test, but Sakura was the only one that lagged behind." Kakashi muttered.

Yakumo and Honoka were trying to not laugh at the other kunoichi in training tendencies. "I am guessing it was down to wire, huh?" Yamato guessed as Kakashi nodded.

"They finally figured out the meaning to it in time otherwise they would have failed the test like the other three teams." Kakashi pointed out.

"Failed three times?" Naruto muttered. "Was the test that hard?" Kakashi nodded.

"Well it's hard for self-centered people to understand the value of teamwork." Kakashi explained. "However, I am guessing that isn't a problem with your team Yamato?"

Yamato nodded. "They managed to get the meaning of my test without any trouble." He happily told his senpai.

Kakashi nodded as he looked at them. "Good, but let me give you three some advice before you run off on a higher rank missions." Kakashi advised.

"Advice," Honoka muttered interest.

"Ninja's need to think beyond normal, when in the line of duty." Kakashi started his little lecture. "In the ninja world those break the rules are scum, but those who don't care of their comrades are trash." Kakashi lectured as the three stood quiet as they reflected on his words for a minute.

"Wise words to live by senpai, but I will need a word from you." Yamato complimented him as he turned towards his team. "Meet me back on the training field at the same time tomorrow, but I want you to practice your stealth techniques. So do your best to hide from me okay." Yamato told them as the nodded.

"Come on guys, I will show you to the payment desk." Naruto offered as they happily followed him downstairs.

Kakashi sighed. "I wish I had your students... I can see they get along nicely and they actually listen to you. Still what is so important Yamato?" Kakashi asked him.

"I tested them all for elemental affinity today for reference. Honoka has Fire affinity with a minor affinity in earth. Yakumo has one for raiton jutsu, and Naruto has one for wind jutsu." he explained as Kakashi raised his eyebrow.

Kakashi nodded. "I can see why you wanted to talk to me. You don't use Raiton or Futon jutsu altogether. I will put up some jutsu scrolls that will help promote their skills.." Kakashi told him.

Yamato sighed with relief. "Thank you senpai, but what about your students. I hope you aren't leaving them for hours for twiddling their thumbs." Yamato hoped as Kakashi shrugged. "Do they need to show up at my training field to learn something in your stead."

"I can handle my team, but first they will need to understand the value of teamwork before I teach them anything. I can see why you are training Team 3 in evasion and tactics first, before anything else." Kakashi pointed out.

Yamato nodded. "It's better to be safe than sorry Senpai, I am teaching two girls on my team. I doubt asking Kurenai-san's help would please Yakumo." Yamato pointed out as Kakashi nodded.

"You could ask Yugao instead seeing that she deals with that situation all the time instead." Kakashi offered.

"True, I could ask her." Yamato explained as the two. "Then I would run into Hayate-san along the way then so I could ask him about kenjutsu as well since they are dating."

Yamato began making preparations for his team as he walked along with Kakashi.

.X.

 **Well that's the end of the chapter and I hoped enjoyed it. I just recently found out that Kishimoto has managed to publish Itachi's story and Shinko Inari has grey hair in it. Uh damn it and I published it the day before the episode aired too. Oh well no crying over spilt milk since it's a done deal now. It's fun watching Itachi and Shisui in their childhood, but they feel broken in a way. It helps justify they didn't turn out for the best during their childhood.**

 **Itachi being persecuted for something he had no control over was the same like Naruto. He had no control over the fact he was the Kyubi's vessel.**

 **Still I do have to answer someone's questions at the end of the chapter. Bigfan22 says Yamato would make a good teacher and I will say yes to that fact. He doesn't sit back and have the wait and see approach like Kakashi. Of course Kakashi loves using diversionary tactics, but Yamato takes the time to rehearse what would happen on the bridge meeting Sasori's spy.**

 **It's true that Yakumo and Naruto are further along than Honoka in terms of ability. Having people with more than skill set was the key to the story then to have extremes like Gai's team and Kakashi's team relying too much on Ninjutsu all the time.**

 **Honoka being the normal one on the team isn't bad at all… but she wants to be unique in a way. A person that fold over to people like Sasuke in my story just because they have natural talent. Her teammates in general are more supporting compared to the team's having some cracked up genius prodigy on them.**

 **So she won't feel left out compared to Lee, Sakura, or even Hinata. If you want to know how I got the idea of Honoka looked no further than the Dead or Alive series. Her end going look will look like her.**

 **Chakra chains, I will explain how Naruto gets them in the future. Overall i have several ideas on how I am going to do that.**

 **Since you all been following the story, I felt a conflicted with my finished chapter. I had decided Wave Country might be first arc or maybe not.**

 **How do you guys feel about Wave Country in general? Does it seem overdone since it appears in the story? Maybe it's important lesson itself to ninja's in general that makes it essential to write.**

 **Hope to hear your responses, Kazama out!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but the concept of this alternate world I made in Fanfiction. I wouldn't have killed Neji off for some pairing choice to close some gap for some relationship. Then make it relevant in some movie that helped ended the series in a way.

 **Ch. 7 Time off**

.X.

It was a little over a month now as Yamato lead Team 3. As the team was starting to get their rhythm now. The harsh exercise he put them under with resistance seals were becoming a bit more bearable. They were all working hard to meet his requirements as well work in sync with each other. During that time they were still performing D-ranks to earn some money. As the team was limited to only at least two a week due the sheer number of genin teams that were available. The grand total of missions they had under their belt was a grand total was 11 now.

It meant they qualified for actual taking a C-rank now since they passed 7th D-rank missions. Still he wondered what progress the other teams' have made during their first month.

Yamato made his way up to the jonin stand-by station with a scroll in his right hand. The building itself was stuck between the Academy and the Hokage's tower so jonin in nature can respond quickly to a threat if one popped up. Yamato made his way past the doors' and signed in at the reception table showing he was now off the clock.

He made his way upstairs to the lounge area now, it was a circular room with multiple windows. Long red sofas circled around the pillar and wall. Plants were growing around the room and a small green vents. He noticed several jonin were already here before him along with Kakashi.

Kakashi looked up up for a moment. "Yo Yamato, I see you finally made it here." Kakashi greeted with him a backwards smile. As the Jonins turned towards him with a wave.

"Good afternoon everyone," Yamato greeted as he saw a familiar sight before them. He saw Gai smiling wearing his trademark spandex suit, orange leg warmers, and vest.

"Yosh, it seems Yamato is finally here! Now we can talk about your youthful teams' you taken under your wing!" Gai shouted happily as people shook their heads in embarrassment. Yamato made his way to them.

"It's only been a month since we got our genin teams' and we are being forced to report to the Hokage." Yamato told them. He sat down beside Gai between Kakashi as a buffer for them. Kurenai and Asuma sat across from them as Asuma sighed wanting to put a cigarette in his mouth. Kurenai nodded as he sighed putting it up.

"True, but newly minted genin teams' are always monitored closely for their potential. From what the Hokage says we tend to make head-cases without morals." Asuma reasoned. "He doesn't want to see someone going off the deep end like Itachi and Orochimaru did."

Kurenai nodded. "True, it seems tedious, however the process is well thought out. Did you have to go through this process Gai?" Kurenai curiously asked him.

Gai fell into a serious mood set now. "Of course Kurenai, my team is more geared towards taijutsu, one of the most youthful aspects of shinobi arts. The Academy teachers' were afraid that I will run them into the ground and send them to the hospital more often than not. They also wanted me to take watch over Lee more due to his special condition." Gai told them.

"That's right you took the boy that can't do ninjutsu and genjutsu with you." Kakashi pointed out as Gai nodded.

"Last month, I gave them the decision if they wanted to try out for the Chunin Exams and they decided to wait until the next one. Still, Lee is training very hard for his youthful moment to beat Neji." He explained.

Yamato looked at the clock as he saw their was more than 40 minutes left for the meeting with the Hokage. He pulled out a slip of paper and laid it down beside him. He unsealed it as a bento box appeared beside him as they looked on curiosity.

"You made that Yamato?" Kurenai asked him as he nodded.

"No, my students made it for me this morning since they had time off to themselves. It turns out Naruto and Honoka are the cooks out the group. Naruto has the best cooking skills out the group all together since he has skills for outdoors cooking. He helped make this walnut daifuku with sesame and bean paste a dessert. I mentioned during lunch one day that I loved eating walnuts. They also made sure that the bento didn't have any oily food as well." He informed them.

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Your genin team cooks for you too… now I am starting to wish I had your team." Kakashi sighed in envy.

Gai smiled. "Something wrong my eternal rival, your genins' aren't performing well lately?" Gai asked him.

Kakashi shrugged. "Well I have run into my fair share of problems', so where do I start." Kakashi muttered for a moment as he thought about what he said. "The first problem I am running into is the lack of teamwork and only one team member besides me gets it."

Yamato spoke up after eating an onigiri. "I am guessing Tai is the only one that listens to you." He pointed out.

Kakashi gave a nod. "Of course, and he is most proactive on the team since he is getting some extra training from Yasuo on the side."

"Aren't you suppose teach your students Kakashi?" Kurenai asked them.

Yamato spoke up again in his defense. "What Kakashi-senpai is trying to point out is the fact we can't hold their hands all the time. Sometimes they have to take the first steps themselves in order to improve themselves. On my first day of D-ranks I made them write all the reports as well do their own personal training one day out the week." Yamato explained.

Asuma chuckled. "So you already got them writing mission reports Yamato? Did any of them get sent back to them?" Asuma curiously asked him.

Yamato quickly replied. "So far none of them, but overall Naruto has the best hand writing out the group do to him learning seals."

"Still, being lazy and being late can really hurt your team Kakashi. If you don't respect their time, how will they respect you. Have you taught them anything besides teamwork and physical training?" Kurenai wondered.

Kakashi quickly answered. "I am teaching them, right now they are learning the tree climbing exercise right now. Sakura on her first attempt managed to master it with ease, but I am trying to improve her chakra reserves."

"I am guessing you don't want to teach techniques that don't promote teamwork. You don't want Sasuke to take off and think teamwork overall is redundant." Asuma guessed.

Kakashi nodded as Gai spoke up. "It reminds of you when you were younger, you never had the notion of teamwork in mind until that incident." Gai mentioned as Kakashi's sagged his shoulders a bit.

"True, Sasuke tends to act like my younger self and he picks up too quickly on exercises I teach. It makes teaching him quite boring at times. With their personalities conflicting each other makes it all the harder. Sasuke's arrogance saying he is better than them puts a damper on team spirit. I am trying to rid Sakura of her crush on Sasuke to help her become a better kunoichi. Her self imposed dieting and lack of doing exercises hurt her in the end. Tai on the other hand is a team player and at leasts gets them to finish a task. He is often ignored by the two, most of the time." Kakashi listed. "I prefer teaching Tai more than the other two because he actually listens to me."

"You ended up with a nightmare team." Asuma summed up as he chuckled.

Gai smiled. "It's only the first month my eternal rival and it's bound to get better in time. Neji and Lee were at odds themselves when we first started out." Gai reassured him.

Asuma sighed. "My team itself is a different problem they understand the notion of teamwork. However Choji's self-confidence needs work the most. On top of the fact he places food above training, stealth, and teamwork. I just can't see how Naruto actually got him to do something in the Academy without food."

Yamato scratched the back of his head with a smile. "Well I believe it has to deal with Shikamaru convincing Choji the most. The constant threat of not doing good in school and dealing with his mother prevented him from hanging out with him. Overall Naruto would hold off to the end of the week to treat him to barbecue at times or his own personal lunches." Yamato explained.

Kurenai shook her head. "My goodness doing that for the past five years must have tedious." She muttered.

"Well it helps you can create explosive tags and sell them off to shops or certain shinobi. Naruto has been running his own bootleg business with explosive notes and storage scrolls. To the point he sold them in the Hokage's Tower at one point since he had so many offers." Yamato pointed out.

"Don't you think that is dangerous letting him make explosive notes?" Kurenai asked him.

"Well Shisui was the one that taught him and overlooked the process. Several people in Anbu buy his tags to help save on the time and cost." Yamato admitted.

Kakashi nodded. "It's a godsend to know we can save money buying explosive tags under the table. If you want a blow up a bridge or a transport using a regular tags, you find out they can only do so much." Kakashi added.

Kurenai shook her head as Asuma and Gai smiled. "So that is where Shikamaru get's his explosive notes from. Well Shikamaru is no doubt the laziest of the group, but the smartest. I placed some clever IQ puzzles down for him to play with and I found his IQ is over 200." Asuma pointed out.

Yamato gave off a whistle. "He is that smart huh, Naruto believed he was the probably the smartest out the group if he actually tried."

Asuma nodded. "True, but his chakra reserves are low and his taijutsu is horrible. Ino on the other hand is the one that takes charge of everything we do. She has managed to learn chakra control from Yakumo during their week off. She is also trying to increase her chakra reserves and her physical prowess. However her overall stamina is not a desirable level. She still tries to look her best and go after boys in her spare time. At least I didn't get some lovestruck girl on my team." Asuma pointed out as Kakashi sighed.

Kurenai shook her head in shame. "Girls today…" she muttered in shame.

"I don't have problems like that from Tenten at all. She is dedicated to becoming a legendary kunoichi in her own right." Gai pointed out trying cheer Kurenai.

As she gave a small smirk. "At least someone is taking something serious. My team is general have good skill pools to drawn on, but their personalities clash the most. Teamwork can be achieved, but Kiba makes it difficult. He believes by right he is de facto team leader when I am away. His loud and brash behavior only makes it worse since it clashes with Shino and Hinata's personalities. Shino is very stoic and is hard to trust towards others. He has a good head on his shoulders and a mastery of his clan techniques, however it doesn't accentuate his strength. Hinata has a lot of potential, but stumbles a lot. She is the very quiet during team discussions, but she has great mastery of the Jyuken." Kurenai explained.

Asuma shook her head as he noticed her nerves must be grated. He looked over to Yamato who was halfway finished with his food. "Any problems with your team, Yamato?" Asuma asked.

Yamato spoke up now. "Not as bad as your team, my team understands teamwork and they know each other to a certain degree. Overall they are very supportive of each other and their endeavors. They all want to set the bar high and go above jonin in level easily." Yamato explained as Gai smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"That sounds like a wonderful goal, the power of youth at it's greatest!" Gai shouted.

Kakashi ignored Gai for a moment. "So you have no real problems on your home front?" Kakashi asked again.

"Only a few, but it's not that big of a problem. First of all I should explain the problems they have right now. I will start with Yakumo Kurama, she is a great genjutsu prodigy for her age and it's no doubt she gives her all to improve herself. She will still need to work on chakra reserves, stamina, ninjutsu, and taijutsu above all if she wants to become jonin. She has a strong analytical mind and she has a good foundation for Iryo-jutsu."

"Honoka sounds average, but overall she is milestones ahead of Yakumo in hand to hand. She uses a blend of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu for combat. She needs to work more on her stamina, chakra reserves, and support techniques. She needs to find something that helps her grow in her own way as well. She has been getting some training on the side from Ebisu over the past five years. Right now I need to help improve her self-confidence, so I asked Yugao for help."

Kurenai looked up. "You asked Yugao for help with what?" Kurenai asked him.

Yamato sipped on his tea before answering. "Kunoichi problems in general, you do remember I am man still, right. I don't know what Kunoichi's face on a regular basis during the start of the careers. I try to create good habits for them to help improve. Yugao got even Hayate to help show Naruto more about kenjutsu as well. I also asked the Hokage can he give them time off for me." Yamato explained.

Asuma looked in disbelief. "You asked my dad for them to have time off? He accepted it without any problems." He incredibly asked them.

Yamato nodded with a smile. "Of course they are getting paid for helping them train and it gives them free time off to go on dates. At least a week's worth of personal training and then they get a month off in return." Yamato carefully explained.

Kakashi shook his head. "So you help give Hayate and Yugao time off, but you refuse to cover me at times." He muttered.

"Kakashi-senpai, you were always punctual during our Anbu days. It's not my fault the Hokage can't tolerate your problems of being late. Besides that I have feeling that I might be called back into the field if push comes to shove." Yamato explained.

Gai stared at Yamato. "You might be called back for Anbu for temporary missions?" He asked as Yamato nodded.

"Just six months ago the Otogakure was formed, yet no one knows who is their leader or where there village is. Just recently only the Kazekage has made relations with them, but never in person. The rebels in Mist are acting up again and trouble might spill onto our soil again. Hunter-nins from other lands have breached our border trying to catch them." Yamato explained.

Kakashi nodded his head. "True, that has been an issue lately and I might be called out to deal with that issue too."

Yamato nodded as continued talking about his team. "Back to the discussion at hand, Naruto Uzumaki is very promising. He has excellent chakra reserves, ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and taijutsu under his belt. I have been working with him working on seals. Overall what scared me the most was the fact Naruto was working on seals using no references at all." Yamato explained.

Kakashi shook his head. "I am surprised he hasn't blown up his apartment yet."

Yamato continued. "True, but he has made some interesting seals, despite being simple concept. He had made seals to help heat up or cool things down. Which is quite good when you apply it to a jacket or a cloak. I just taught him how to make privacy seals and security seals for his apartment so he can keep his things safely. The problems Naruto is facing is the fact his chakra control varies during spars still. He tends to use more chakra then most… he can break genjutsu, but he has a hard time telling advance one's." Yamato explained.

"Lucky bastard, you get a good group to work with." Asuma muttered.

"You are also pawning off your training to Yugao and Hayate for the week. That is not fair, Yamato?" Kakashi agreed with Asuma.

"It's not my fault you don't ask others to help you senpai. Besides that Yugao was enthusiastically happily to meet the girls' on my team. Besides that we don't have a lot kenjutsu users in the village that are good. Fuinjutsu users are even less and that category altogether. Maybe I should take them to archives to study a bit more." Yamato told them.

Gai smiled patting Yamato on the shoulder. "It seems Yamato is still trying to enjoy his youth. When does their training with them pick up?" Gai enthusiastically asked.

"Next Monday and since today is Friday, I gave them time to themselves to recover from training. I have no doubt that Hayate and Yugao would put them through their pace easily." Yamato explained as the noticed the Hokage's secretary finally walked through the door.

"The Hokage is ready to see you all." She told them as everyone got up from their seats. They followed after the secretary.

.X.

 _(Naruto's Pov)_

Naruto yawned as he walked throughout the streets of Konoha. He wore a causal fishnet armor underneath his black shirt. He wore a white jacket that had blue accents with two stripes going down the arms. He wore dark blue pants and blue sandals that matched his headband color for today. As he had Shisui was wrapped around his waist as he carried his pouch behind him.

Naruto had just recently left the store after selling explosive tags to the weapon shop earning him 7000 ryo for one huge stack. He pocketed away the money in his pouch. He activated the newly minuted security seal to help alert him of a thief if they tried taking his hard earned money.

He pulsed out his chakra again and sighed. _"It's that same signature I am feeling over and over again watching me. They aren't the regular Anbu jiji had watching over me when I was younger. They tend to carry a tanto that is double bladed in nature with no tip."_ Naruto thought.

As he flickered out of view shocking the person on the roof tops as he looked around. The person wearing a dog mask with a green triangle on his forehead. "Shit I lost him." He muttered as he focused on trying to track his chakra. "It's no good for the time being, despite being a Jinchuriki he can hide his presence with ease. Furthermore the speed and the use of Shunshin no jutsu is crazy like Shisui the teleporter. Keeping an eye on him after he learned how to sense people has been quite troublesome. The task to monitor at times has been very difficult." He spoke as he jumped around rooftops trying to find Naruto.

Meanwhile Naruto stood in front of the Yamanaka flower shop as he kept his chakra suppressed. "It looks like I lost him for the time being, but now to get those flowers I ordered." Naruto muttered as he walked into the shop.

He noticed Ino was manning the desk as she looked was busy tending to some documents. She looked up to see him come from the door. "So the boy with a green thumb returns, huh. Do you need any fertilizer or seeds this time around?" Ino greeted him.

Naruto shrugged. "Not this time Ino-chan, but I came to pick up some flowers for Shisui's grave." Naruto told her.

She gave a soft smile as she read the list before her. "Yellow lilies huh, they symbolize a form of gratitude." She remembered as Naruto nodded. "You are really are indebted to Sasuke's cousin aren't you, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course, without him putting me in the right direction, I wouldn't have become the Rookie of the Year. I would have been dead last in the Academy since no one wouldn't give me a time of day." Naruto explained to her.

Ino stared at him. "By the way what is up with people not liking you back then?" She asked him.

Naruto shrugged. "I was born on the wrong day I suppose. I can't even celebrate my birthday without offending someone I suppose." Naruto summed up as she nodded.

Ino nodded. "True, but since you are here. What is your team like by the way?" Ino curiously asked him.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Well my team is kind and considerate for the most part. Yamato-sensei has been putting us through the paces for the past month. We have been focusing on our chakra control exercises, stealth, evasion, physical exercises, teamwork, and full contact spars to simulate battle. So far we have only have taken eleven D-ranks this month as well." Naruto explained as Ino pouted.

"That is so unfair, I get stuck with a smokestack-sensei and lazy teammates to boot. Choji and Shikamaru don't even take training serious. At this rate our team will be behind Sakura's team in no time." She complained.

Naruto shrugged. "True, but Shikamaru and Choji don't react well with stress in their lives. I tend to treat Choji on a meal on Friday if he has managed to do good work in the Academy. As well pass out snacks to him that curb his hunger. I found out giving him sweets, meat, and potato chips tend to make him more hungry. Shikamaru fears facing his mother's wrath alone without his father's help. Overall Shikamaru responds well when dealing with problems when he has time to think. He was the one that suggested using Akimichi's clan drugs to help Yakumo." Naruto reasoned.

Ino huffed crossing her arms. "True, they aren't that useless, but Sakura is getting ahead of me." Ino muttered.

"Well I don't think that will be a problem." A voice called out as they turned to see Tai and Kari together.

"Tai, I didn't expect you to be here." Naruto muttered as he saw Kari run up to with a smile.

"Hello Naruto-kun!" Kari cheered running up to him with a hug. Naruto bend down to hug her as he picked her up with a smile.

"Hey Kari, how are you doing?" Naruto asked her.

"I am doing fine, but I am just hanging out with Tai since he is off until Monday. I just came here to buy some flowers for mom. Oni-san hurt her feelings because her cooking skills aren't that great." Kari told them.

Ino shook her head. "Really Tai… you insult your mother's cooking." Ino told him.

Tai held up one hand. "Have you ate my mother's cooking before Ino? There is a reason why I don't invite people to my house very often. My friend Koushiro just went to the hospital for food poisoning. She also doesn't use flour in her cakes as well unless we double check her ingredients." Tai explained in his defense.

Ino shook her head. "Okay I see what you are talking about now. A bouquet of white orchids would really cheer up. The symbolize sincerity and their long lasting nature shows how sorry you are as long as the last." She advised.

Ino pointed over the to the excotic flowers as Naruto carried Kari over their to inspect them. "By the way how are you guys doing?"

Tai shrugged. "Well during our test Sakura and Sasuke are the failure's in Kakashi-sensei's eyes. I don't know which is worse Sasuke or Sakura. She didn't even do anything to help out at all and she ended up getting herself tied to the post." Tai told her.

Ino bursted out laughing as she smiled. "Really she got tied to the post for being useless during a training exercise. How is Sasuke doing?" Ino asked as she Tai frown.

"The guy is a dick and I am generally a good guy. The guy thinks he's above everyone and didn't even bother working with us. Sakura cares too much about to even bother training and Sasuke doesn't even understand our sensei's lectures. We are forced to work on teamwork issues everyday for the past month as well take D-ranks. It pisses me of the most if they don't get their act together we won't take a C-rank anytime soon." Tai complained.

"Sasuke can't be that bad!" Ino shouted back.

Tai stared at Ino. "You do realize he had made an F in Teamwork right in the Academy." Tai reminded her as she frowned.

"Okay you have a point…" she muttered in embarrassment. Ino tried changing the situation. "Has Sakura been on a date with Sasuke?"

Tai shook his head. "No, they haven't been on one and Sakura's constant asking of him irritates him to hell and back. I had to ask the guy what was up with up with him and I had to seriously throw out the gay card on him in front of sensei. What surprised me what his answer was." Tai told her.

"He is not gay, right." Ino asked worriedly.

Tai nodded. "No he isn't, but he hates the fact that you all flocked to him constantly. Apparently he doesn't like a yes women in general, but women who have a mind of their own. Someone actually strong in his opinion to help hold his clan name. He is also putting of his relationships until he kills a certain someone." Tai told her as Ino held her head down dejectedly.

"So that is why he never answered us." She muttered.

"Don't feel so sad, right now he is focusing his effort into killing his big brother Itachi." Tai reassured her. "I also told him to tell Sakura that so she stop asking him constantly on a date. It seemed to work out for the best. She will at least take more seriously with her training now after being told off."

"Tai oni-san, can we buy our flowers now!" Kari shouted enthusiastically.

Naruto looked up now. "Yeah I am also ready to buy my flowers too." Naruto told Ino as she nodded.

"Sure let me get everything you need before you leave." Ino told them as it took a few minutes to get their order down. She looked up at Naruto. "By the way where are your teammates?"

Tai thought about it for a moment. "Sasuke at this time might be training near the naka river. Sakura is no doubt helping around the library for some extra cash around this time. Apparently she wants to go clothes shopping soon for some proper mission clothes." Tai replied.

Naruto nodded. "Well I know Yakumo and Honoka planned to meet Hinata at the Hyuga Estate to help make sweets and train a bit." Naruto told her.

Ino pouted. "Yakumo didn't even invite me to this little get together." She muttered.

"Well take that up with her tomorrow morning at her house then. I have no doubt that she will be free tomorrow." Naruto told her.

.X.

 _(Yakumo and Honoka's Pov)_

Meanwhile at the Hyuga grounds as the sound of spar was going on. As a young seven year old Hyuga girl looked frustrated by her lack of progress. Hanabi was fighting the girl named Honoka who a civilian kunoichi. Hinata and Yakumo sat by the sidelines watching the match along with her father.

Honoka kept blocking and redirecting her wrists from hitting her. As the girl slammed her fist into her fist knocking her balance as a flurry of fists kept punching her to the ground. As the girl tried striking back in retaliation. As Honoka slapped away as she moved back as Hanabi moved off the ground. As a foot slammed into her chest knocking her into the ground.

Hanabi tried rolling off the ground. She thrusted forwards with one finger as Honoka grabbed and bent her causing her to yelp in pain. She hit her across her neck with a swift chop with her open palm causing her to crumble.

"You know the Jyuken only reaches max efficiency when they have space and balance. It's a different story altogether when the style is neutralized by a direct fighting style. By stopping the spinning motion, block the wrists, and attack the inside their guard. If the Jyuken user blocks the fist move around for a swift blow to the throat." Honoka told her.

Hiashi nodded. "That's enough the spar is over." He told them.

"That was a little brutal…" Hinata muttered.

"Wing Tsun was not meant to be pretty it's a style designed to destroy their opponent. It uses strikes and grapples to beat their opponent. If she used the grappling style even more she would break her arm." Yakumo told her.

"Hanabi, how many times I tell to disengage when an opponent is in your guard?" Hiashi told her.

"Several times father." She told her.

"It's true a beginner like you can't use it to it's full efficiency. Slapping away wrists is a key way to defend against our attacks and grappling techniques ever more. She controlled the very flow of the spar the whole time since she understands the core basics. If you can't generate motion it's best to go straight in using the Jyuken and then back off." He advised as he turned Honoka. "You have done wonderful job learning Wing Tsun Honoka-chan, despite not using it's full application."

"Thank you Hiashi-sama," Honoka thanked him as Hinata dropped her a bit.

As he turned to Yakumo now. "By the way who is your sensei and your last teammate?" Hiashi asked her.

"Naruto Uzumaki is our last teammate and we are lead by Yamato sensei." Yakumo answered.

The man stayed quiet for a moment. "I never heard of the name Yamato before, but Naruto Uzumaki is one thing I heard many times before." He informed them as the group of girls raised their head.

"Do you Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mother?" Yakumo asked her.

Hinata looked up in shock. _"Kushina Uzumaki...? I never heard of that before."_ She thought.

"That name brings up a lot of memories, it was back when I was at the Academy. That girl was not normal in any sense itself. When she first came from Uzushiogakure she was lonely just like her son was at first. She wanted to be the first female Hokage, but everyone laughed at her." He admitted bringing a smile to Honoka, Yakumo, and Hinata's face.

"She was unusual, why you say that father?" Hanabi asked him.

He gave a slight smirk. "Back then she was known as tomato by most kids due to her red hair and chubby cheeks to most kids. This prompted her to lash out and sent several Academy students a genin to the hospital for months." He told them causing them to shut up.

"How old was she when came from Uzushiogakure?" Honoka curiously asked as she down on the bench.

"She was eight years old at the time and she graduated at 10 years old. Around that time she was also kidnapped by Kumo herself before she was saved by Minato Namikaze." He told her as Hinata perked up.

"She was kidnapped…" Hinata muttered.

Hiashi nodded. "The Uzumaki clan may be spreaded out or Naruto might be the last living one in Konoha. The Uzumaki's had always had a strong life force and massive chakra reserves. They were feared by Kumo and Iwa respectively and Kiri as well for many reasons." Hiashi explained.

"So that is why they were destroyed?" Yakumo asked him.

"Not quite, before the village system was ever established the Uzumaki's reigned above due to their economy and education system. They controlled sea and numerous trading and shipping companies under their name. They also had various artifacts that were stolen by Kumo, but they can't use due to not having Uzumaki blood without dying. Above all else they can help subdue a biju like the Kyubi itself if push comes to shove." He explained.

"With seals…" Hanabi muttered.

"True, but their chakra chains were feared by many. They can produce durable chains out of their chakra to help bind and neutralize foes. Anyone caught by them can't use kawarimi and certain jutsus to break it." He explained.

"Why didn't he inherit the Uzumaki Scrolls?" Yakumo asked him.

Hiashi nodded his head. "By then a majority of things from Uzushiogakure were already destroyed? However I doubt Kushina was foolish not to write it down. If Naruto showcased the ability to use the chains years ago. Kumo would have tried kidnapping him too without. I can only surmise your friend has a great talent in Fuinjutsu." Hiashi explained.

Honoka smiled. "Just recently he just learned how to create security seals and privacy seals as well. He even made a heating and cooling seal for his jackets and cloaks as well." Honoka proudly told them.

"Originally he made to help heat ramen faster so he can camp outdoors without using a fire." Yakumo admitted as Hinata smiled.

Hiashi looked to the outskirts of Konoha. "Well if he is interested in learning more about his heritage look for the Uzumaki temple on the outskirts of town." He told them.

"They had a temple as well, why didn't anyone say anything about?" Yakumo muttered.

"Despite being run down the inside of the building is intact. The seals there are still active and people that go there die. That is how powerful their seals were and why so many covet them. Even the sensing barrier around Konoha is attributed to them. Still, I advise you not to tell him to go alone without any supervision." Hiashi warned them as he noticed an attendant giving him a sign. "Right now I have business meeting with Taketori clan leader."

He dismissed himself as headed to the front of the house. "I didn't know that Naruto-kun's clan was that famous." Hinata muttered.

"Wouldn't that make him a relative of the Senju clan, the First Hokage married one after all." Hanabi pointed out.

"A lot of people don't like him because he was born the day the attack." Honoka muttered as she looked up Yakumo. "By the way what is Naruto-kun doing today?"

"He is visiting Shisui's grave today to make sure it's clean and proper. He might not have the time to clean it if we get too busy in the future." Yakumo explained.

"Shisui?" Hanabi muttered.

"Shisui Uchiha the teleporter, he was the one that taught Naruto a few things before he died." Yakumo pointed out.

Honoka spoke up now. "We could tell Naruto about the temple some other time, but we can't forget our true goal today. We are going to make some sweets' today and seal them to keep their freshness." Honoka told them.

Hanabi frowned. "Why do you guys want to bake sweets on your day off? The cooks can do it with ease, while you can train." Hanabi muttered.

"So says the girls that got her butt kicked by me earlier as well Honoka." Yakumo pointed out as Hanabi blushed. "Besides we have been training and doing missions for a whole month straight. If we ever want something sweet in the field we would have to snack on granola bars. Naruto himself makes several meals ahead of time and seals them away for special occasions."

Yakumo held up a few scrolls. "He gave us these pre-made scrolls for us to keep if we ever need to pack up a few things." Honoka told her as she handed a red one to Yakumo as she kept a blue one. She handed a purple one to Hinata as she looked confused.

"You are giving one to me." She asked Honoka.

The girl smiled cheerfully. "Of course, Naruto suggested the idea since we were going to be together baking. He thought you might need a storage scroll in the future for long missions." Honoka happily explained as Hinata blushed and nodded. She took it with thanks as Honoka pulled her to her feet. "Now that is out the way let us head to kitchen now."

Honoka dragged Hinata along as Yakumo carried Hanabi in her arms causing her to blush. "I can walk you know." She told them.

"I know, but today you get to act like a normal little girl. You can even get to make you some sweets in the end too." Yakumo told her.

Hanabi blushed. "Really…" she muttered.

Yakumo nodded with a smile. "Of course silly," Yakumo reassured her.

"Can it be something that has bannana?" Hanabi blushed.

Yakumo nodded. "We can make a banana cake or have fried bananas' with a side of vanilla ice cream."

Hanabi gave a sweet smile as they headed towards the kitchen.

.X.

(Konoha Cemetery)

As Naruto stood sat down in front Shisui's grave as he laid the flowers in front of them. He had another stack flowers in a bouquet.

"I can't believe Kari and Ino convinced me to buy these pink carnations. Still, she is my mother and I bet no one has visited her grave in years." Naruto muttered.

He made his way over to a special cemetery for fallen Shinobi as he looked at the mass of graves. A giant red Will Fire statue stood in the front of the cemetery. He went down the rows trying to find her name as he noticed the grave stood out from the rest. As it has the Uzumaki spiral on it as with her name in red.

It was well taken care like the rest of the graves as he placed the flowers down. As went to his knees in prayer. As a couple of minutes passed as he stayed silent. He opened his eyes as he felt a chakra signature behind him.

He turned around as he saw a woman with a with long brown hair tied up in a pony-tail. Her chocolate brown hair stared at him with interest in curiosity. She wore a purple blouse, black skirt, purple leggings, and black sandals. The more distinctive things he saw on her face was a distinctive purple markings on her face. She wore a Konoha's headband on her head that shined under the sun.

She gave a light gentle smile to him as Naruto blushed a little. "Good afternoon." Naruto greeted as she giggled.

"Good afternoon to you as well Naruto-kun." She greeted.

Naruto turned his head in confusion as she walked up to him. "You know about me?" He asked.

As she ruffled Naruto's hair as she nodded with a smile. "Of course, you're the boy that lives in that nice apartment complex downtown. So many people feel indebted to you for helping them out in their time and need. Kenichi Kaneko talks greatly about you and we have you to thank for such having a seamster in Konoha. You even place seals on the cloaks or sheets to help give warm or cold to them.

Naruto smiled blushing as he nodded. "I do help Kenichi-san when I have time, I plan on helping tomorrow since I'm off. By the way did you come to visit my mother's grave." Naruto asked her.

She nodded as she turned towards the grave. "Kushina-san, doesn't have anyone to tend over her grave anymore. Mikoto-san and me usually do it when we have time in our schedules." She explained as she stopped. She placed a hand on her chest and turned towards Naruto. "I am sorry that I didn't introduce myself. My name is Rin Nohara I'm a chief medical officer of the Shinobi forces.

"Chief Medical Officer, do you know Kito-sensei and Yakumo-chan?" Naruto asked her as Rin nodded.

"Of course silly, Yakumo-chan had to pass through me several times. As well she needed to get her basic medical rank license on her registration for training under Kito-sensei." Rin told him.

Naruto smiled. "How much does she have to learn to become a full medic?" Naruto asked her.

Rin couldn't help, but smile. "Well right now she is a genin, but if she has time she can become one." She told him.

Naruto nodded. "Just a few moments ago, you came by here with someone else? Mikoto-san, I believe… Yakumo owns her Tetsugen." Naruto nodded as Rin didn't smile.

She nodded. "That's correct, but she isn't here anymore due to the massacre of the Uchiha clan. Mikoto and her were such great friends'." Rin announced.

Naruto turned a bit quiet. "I didn't know that at all…" Naruto muttered.

Naruto's stomach gurgled as Rin giggled at him. "Did you forget to forget to eat lunch on the way?" She asked him.

Naruto blushed as he scratched his head. "Well I was so busy cleaning buying flowers and cleaning up Shisui's grave." Naruto admitted.

Rin nodded. "Are you planning to leave soon?" She asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Of course, but are you going to stay here and pray Rin-sensei?" Naruto asked as the woman nodded.

"Of course, but hopefully I would like to ask you a question, first." Rin asked him.

Naruto quickly replied. "About what?"

"How much medical knowledge do you possess? It's all good she knows how to use a few medical techniques, but the rest of the team should at least enough to stabilize a person." She lectured him.

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Well I know basic first aid and herbal remedies." Naruto admitted.

Rin shook her head. "Well that's the bare minimum that's required, but do you carry medical supplies with you." She told him.

Naruto flipped out a scroll with a green band around it saying medical supplies. "I carry them in my scroll for emergency purposes as well make sure to have a blood replenishing pill on hand." Naruto proudly admitted as he placed it back in his pouch.

Rin nodded. "At least you are prepared, are you off for the time being, Naruto-kun?" She asked him.

Naruto nodded. "We have until at least Monday off until we start training again." Naruto told her.

She nodded. "What is your sensei's name?" Rin asked.

"Yamato-sensei is the leader of Team 3 and if you can't find him. Ask Kakashi-sensei wherever he is or the Hokage if you prefer." Naruto told her as her eyes glazed a bit. Naruto stomach gurgled again. "I will see you later Rin-sensei."

As Naruto flickered out of existence in front of her leaving no trace and smoke. As a distant look fell into her eyes. _"He reminds me so much about Minato-sensei, but I can see a bit Kushina in him as well. Yet, Naruto has mastered the Shunshin jutsu to such a degree like Shisui and his father. I am not surprised he doesn't recognize me he was still so young back then. He would play around with me gathering flowers for fun."_ Rin thought as she turned to Kushina's grave.

.X.

Naruto appeared before Ichiraku stand as he quickly looked around to see he didn't leave a trace of the wind blow around him. He gave a quick smile as he moved under the cloth. He saw Teuchi and Ayame wave to him.

"So how is my favorite customer doing? Coming in to eat some lunch again or stock up on food for training?" Teuchi greeted him.

Naruto nodded. "I'm not stocking up on ramen for the time being, just having a regular lunch today." Naruto informed him. "However, I want four deluxe ramen bowls with beef, chicken, crab, and pork." Naruto told him.

"Coming right up, but let tell you the price of seafood has gone up recently so we will have to charge a bit more." Teuchi informed him.

Naruto looked a bit confused. "I don't mind paying, but why has it gone up?" Naruto asked the cook.

Ayame spoke up. "Well it has something to do with Gato Industries owning the shipping and transporting. He has placed high tax revenues on anything moving through his waters. Just recently he set up shop in Wave Country. The people of Wave Country hasn't been selling like normal." Ayame told him as Naruto nodded.

"How many business does this Gato guy own?" Naruto curiously asked as Teuchi served him a beef ramen bowl first.

Teuchi thought about for a moment. "He owns property in River, Wave, Mist, and several shore line places in the elemental countries. Several people are thinking he is using illegal means to carry out business." He explained as Naruto thanked him for the meal.

"I see, but I see no one is lifting a finger to stop him." Naruto muttered in annoyance.

Teuchi nodded. "True, but money speaks volumes to people high up in the world." He told him.

Naruto nodded as he kept eating. He felt a familiar chakra signature walking behind him. "I didn't expect to see you here Shikamaru." Naruto turned his head as he saw the boy carrying a backpack filled with clothes.

As he sat down at the bar. "It's so troublesome trying to keep up with you sometimes. One moment you are Yamanaka's flower shop and then at the cemetery with ease." He muttered in annoyance. "Luckily I have the brain to cut you off at your favorite eating spot around lunch time."

Shikamaru sat down beside Naruto as Choji came in tow. "Hey Naruto, how have you been doing lately." He asked him.

Naruto smiled. "I am doing fine, but I see you guys aren't happy lately." He noticed as he turned to the cook. "I will pay your for your meal Shikamaru and Choji can have three deluxe bowls of ramen on me."

Choji smiled. "Thanks Naruto!" Choji shouted. "I really need it after all what is going on."

Naruto shook his head. "I know I had some interesting talk with Ino at the flower shop. I can only assume the meeting taking place has got everyone talking including your mom Shikamaru." Naruto surmised.

Shikamaru shrugged. "So you heard about it all from Ino, I knew she couldn't keep her mouth shut." He muttered as he gave order to Teuchi.

"Of course I heard when she complained about the guys are doing the bare minimum again. At least you guys don't fight like cats and dogs like Team 7 is doing lately." Naruto told them.

Choji looked up at Naruto. "They aren't doing so well as well." He asked.

Naruto nodded. "Between Sasuke's attitude and Sakura's lovestruck attitude, Tai is feeling irritated at this point." Naruto explained. "You guys at least need to put up more than effort with training at least. Even if you don't want to work hard, work smarter at least. I don't want to go your funerals' if you die to not training yourself properly."

Choji moaned. "Training is so hard Naruto and it always leave me hungry." Choji told him.

Naruto shook his head. "True, but next time Choji why don't you eat nuts, fruit, and yogurt if you get hungry." Naruto lectured the boy. "Shikamaru stop being too lazy and you wouldn't have to deal with your mother so much. I can't bail you out all the time with her since I'm so busy now."

Shikamaru grunted. "I know, but putting up with her demands…" Naruto nudged him stopping his sentence. Shikamaru turned his head around quickly to see Yoshino standing behind him with angry look on her face.

"What were you going to say Shikamaru?" Yoshino asked him as Choji turned quiet.

Naruto turned quiet as well as he gave a certain look at him. Shikamaru know spoke up. "I said it, so I might as well finish. "Your demands are quite tedious and I didn't expect Asuma's training to be a drag."

The men shook their heads as Ayame frowned. "Couldn't you have said something smarter."

Yoshino pulled him from his ear and he grunted. "Well excuse me Shikamaru, apparently you want be independent, but you can't even lift a finger to do anything. Unlike your father I at least care if you live or die. You don't practice your taijutsu, increase your stamina, or your chakra reserves. You only have one real jutsu under your belt that can only go so far. You should take a page from Naruto's book and get more active." Yoshino told him.

Shikamaru looked at his friend. "Why she is comparing me to you? We are two different people." He complained.

Naruto scratched his head. "Well you are the Jonin Commander's son, so you're suppose to make a good impression." Naruto guessed.

"Shikamaru, I am lucky I am not in your position." Choji muttered while eating.

"You shouldn't talk like you are off the hook to Choji. Yasu your mother isn't quite pleased with your lack effort as well." Yoshino reminded him as Choji stiffened.

Naruto stood quiet shaking his head. "I am sorry I can't help you two." Naruto muttered.

Choji nodded. "It's okay Naruto, it was bound to come up." Choji reassured him.

Yoshino turned towards Naruto now with a less aggressive look on her face. As she let go of Shikamaru's ear. "Since we on that subject how goes your training Naruto? Did you master the Doryuheki jutsu I taught?" Yoshino asked him.

Naruto nodded as he got up from his seat. He flipped through four seals as he slammed his hands down to the ground. As an earth wall appeared behind him having a brick surface. It also had a sculpture of Teuchi and serving a ramen bowl in front of it.

Teuchi gave a smile. "Ah that is not a bad wall, it's very detailed." He told him.

Yoshino inspected as she gave a quick punch to it. She noticed it was not was not breaking with ease. "Now this is a wall that can protect you when an attack comes along." She sounded impressed as she turned to Shikamaru.

"I expect you back home after you eat Shikamaru and you too Choji." She told them as she turned to Naruto. "Can you make sure they both get home for me please? I have something very important to handle with my husband."

Naruto nodded. "Of course Yoshino-san and even I have to drag Shikamaru back home on the ground." He told her as she nodded. She made a quick tiger seal as she flickered away from the seen.

"You are a traitor you know that." Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto shrugged with a smile. "Well apparently you don't need my help with doing your chores anymore. Fine, I will go find Shino and Kiba to hang around then." Naruto joked.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto and frowned as Naruto looked up to see Choji looking over to his bowl. "Don't you dare eat my ramen or we are going have a problem here, Choji!"

Teuchi and Ayame laughed at the young ninja as Naruto rushed up back to his seat.

.X.

As a couple of hours passed as Naruto finally escorted the two back home. He heard quite a mouthful from both their mother's as their fathers had depressing looks on their faces. He finally made his way back to his apartment. He noticed the scent of something sweet in the air as he made his way to the apartment.

He pulsed his chakra again as he noticed three familiar figures signatures standing near his apartment.

"I didn't think you three would be here at my place on our day off." Naruto pointed out as he heard a small girly scream.

He saw Hinata standing behind Yakumo and Honoka who were carrying a basket of sweets. "Good afternoon Naruto-kun!" Honoka shouted as they gave their greetings.

"G-good a-afternoon Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered.

"You guys brought Hinata here with you. How's is it going with Kiba and Shino?" Naruto greeted her.

"Well…" She muttered as Yakumo pushed her out forward.

"Hinata notices a lot of problems concerning Kiba and Shino. Kiba trying to prove he is team leader and Shino having communication problems." Yakumo explained.

Naruto nodded. "That sounds about right… Shino considered a problem child back in the Academy and he didn't want to be assigned to him because their personalities were too different. I can assume Kiba they are fighting over the course how the team is going. Shino being the most cautious would like to form a plan of attack. Kiba wants to jump and fight everyone, despite the dangers. Kiba trying to assume being a leader is a pack thing in nature." Naruto reminded himself.

Hinata muttered. "Shino-kun said that to Kiba-kun?" Hinata hesitantly asked.

Naruto nodded. "Of course, I known them for a long time and actually talked to them. It's hard being Shino's friend because he so analytical and overthinks everything you do in return. How I got him to talk to me was a discussion of trying to stop bugs from eating my garden years ago. He is very helpful and insightful with information so I usually talk to him things along that nature.

"Throwing jokes his way doesn't seem to work either so don't bother trying. He is real passionate about collecting different bugs and learning new types." Naruto recalled. "By the way, why don't you voice your opinion who the leader should be Hinata?"

She tapped her fingers together as she had her head down. "Um well…" she muttered.

Yakumo sighed. "Hinata, you are looking down again." She told her.

She forced herself to look up. "Well it's hard talking to the two?" She admitted.

Naruto nodded. "Then why not push for team leader yourself then?" He advised.

Honoka spoke up. "We tried convincing her, but she isn't feeling it." The pink haired kunoichi told him. She finally remembered something. "By the way we heard something really interesting about your mother and clan from Hiashi-sama today? Do you want to hear about it?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure, you guys can come in and I will make drinks to go with your snacks then." Naruto offered.

Hinata blushed. _"Naruto is inviting me into his apartment."_ She thought as Yakumo bopped her on the head.

"Focus Hinata, we are with you remember?" She asked her as the girl nodded.

The group stopped as they saw a swirl of wind and leaves stop them. They saw Yamato-sensei standing there in front of them.

Honoka smiled." Hey Yamato-sensei!" She greeted along with a hug.

He patted her head with a smile. "It's good to see you guys taking it easy on your days off. The other jonins agreed you guys need some time off for the time being." He told them as he noticed Hinata.

"Did you like the Walnut Daifuku we made for you?" Yakumo asked him.

Yamato nodded. "Of course, but let me warn you guys about Kakashi-senpai. He might try coming around asking for a meal or two. Don't give him any seeing he isn't doing a good job as a Jonin-sensei." He warned as the genin laughed.

Naruto nodded. "Is there something you want to talk to us about sensei?" He noticed.

Yamato quickly replied. "Our schedule is changing next week, I have two friends that volunteered to help train you in respective arts. Naruto you will report to the Hokage's tower to meet Hayate Gekko a premiere Kenjutsu user in our village that even trained Anbu in sword fighting." He told Naruto

Naruto fist pumped. "That sounds awesome dattebayo, but will you be doing Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked him.

"I will get to that in a moment Naruto." He told him as he turned to Yakumo and Honoka. "Since I'm not a women at all, I hardly understand all the problems a kunoichi has to deal with in the field. I thought it was wise for Yugao Uzuki help train you. She works in Anbu for quite some time so she would no the problems you might face the most."

Honoka and Yakumo smiled as Yamato stopped them. "Before you get all happy, Sakura Haruno will be there with you during this time."

Yakumo groaned. "Really…" she muttered.

Yamato nodded. "Yes, and the reason behind is the fact Sakura lacks any drive or inspiration from a real kunoichi in nature. It would also help her of having no real distractions to turn to during training. Yakumo you should know that she needs all the help she can to make it through her first big mission." He reasoned.

Yakumo sighed. "Fine, but she better put her act together. I don't want her to go on about Sasuke." Yakumo annoyingly admitted.

Yamato nodded. "Yugao wouldn't let it happen. Now to explain what I am going to be doing for the week. I will be taking place in a training exercise with some new jonins', chunin, and Anbu candidates for certain divisions. Since you all know how to write a mission report I will expect to perform 2 D-ranks a day until I get back." Yamato explained.

"Yes sir," they all agreed.

Yamato elaborated further. "I also have a request for Rin Nohara for you all to take supplementary tests to help improve your medical knowledge. So you will be spending some evenings with her. I also have a written assignment for you all to do as well. I want you to provide the benefits of your elemental nature and weaknesses. I only want you write mainly on your primary element and how to train with it for future reference."

Yakumo spoke. "I am guessing no text books answers, right?" She guessed.

Yamato nodded. "Correct, go out and meet these people who have mastered their respective elements. Talk to them personally about it and the difficulties that you may have. Then try out the exercise a few times to get a feel for it. I want a five page paper detailing your findings the end of your training period." Yamato explained as they nodded.

Naruto smiled. "I will just ask jiji for help since he master all of the elements to their fullest." Naruto reasoned.

Yamato nodded. "That would be a logical choice, but the Hokage is so busy nowadays with work. Try to talk to Asuma-san if you have the time Naruto instead."

Yakumo spoke up. "So who has a lightning element in Konoha I can ask other than the Hokage?" she curiously asked.

"Kakashi-senpai would be the person to talk to first." He told her.

"I would learn fire nature training from Ebisu-sensei in his off time." Honoka reasoned.

Yamato nodded. "Correct, and during this week you two will work on two elemental jutsu as well." He told them.

Their eyes lit up now. "Two elemental jutsu…" they muttered.

Yamato nodded taking out a scroll from his vest. He unraveled it and began unsealing six spots on the scroll. Hinata looked on in curiosity as they saw their sensei handed them two one fire scroll and earth scroll to Honoka. Yakumo received two lightning elemental jutsu and Naruto received two wind jutsu's.

"Now I want you to read the scrolls and practice the hand signs for them as well read the explanations. I made sure that they are well within your skill level." Yamato told them as the three nodded happily. "I plan on taking our first C-rank mission during the third week of our second together. I will need to go over how to prepare for your missions' in the future. Just incase you all get sent out a mission without me."

"Yes sir," Team 3 understood.

Yamato nodded as he saw Hinata with her head down. "Something wrong Hinata-chan?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Nothing… nothing is wrong Yamato-sensei." She told him.

Yamato turned to his team. "Can you guys go in Naruto's apartment, while I talk to Hinata?" He told them as they nodded heading inside.

Yamato spoke up now. "I can see you feel a bit discouraged now after hearing their training regiment, huh."

She nodded. "I try to improve myself…" she muttered as Yamato patted her on the head.

"The first step to improving yourself is to admit your faults and then work your way up. You have plenty of potential Hinata, but you lack the confidence to improve yourself. With a bad mindset like that you won't ever improve yourself." He advised her. "I know being part an heiress to a clan like the Hyuga is hard, but you should find out what's best for you."

Hinata looked up. "What's best for me?" She muttered.

Yamato nodded. "Set a goal and then try to accomplish it. The more you accomplish it you can easily feel better about yourself. Did Kurenai ask you what your dream was?" Yamato asked her.

She nodded. "No we haven't…" she muttered.

Yamato pulled out a scroll with information on it. "Do you know the goals my student's step up for themselves?" He asked her.

"Naruto-kun wants to become Hokage." She answered as he nodded.

"Of course, so he takes it in stride and learn what he needs to know. So he treats the things he learn as stepping stones to his goal. Yakumo does it too seeing she wants to be respected Jonin along with Honoka. However, Honoka wants to prove kids not coming from clans can be splendid shinobi." He explained. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to make my father proud." She muttered.

Yamato admitted. "Then take the time to talk to him and make him listen. Ask him to be quiet, while you say your fears to him." Yamato advised her. "Running away from the problem will never solve your problem."

"But what if he doesn't listen?" Hinata worriedly asked him.

Yamato shook his head. "No real father would give up on their daughter. Even if you have to write your feelings on paper to tell him. It's better than not saying anything at all." He reassured her.

Hinata nodded. "I can write it down on paper?" She asked him as he nodded ruffling her head.

"Of course, and leave it on his dresser if you don't feel confident about giving it to him in person." He told as he looked at the apartment. "Now go and enjoy your time with my team. Don't be afraid to ask Yakumo for help along with Honoka. I bet Naruto can lend you a scroll and brush to write with."

Hinata nodded with a smile. "Yes sir and thank you." She made her way upstairs to Naruto's apartment.

Yamato looked around for a moment. "I didn't think you would drop by here Kurenai-san. I almost didn't noticed you were here until you unsuppressed your chakra." He told her as she came up from the ground as her hair covered her body began receding. As it showed her face that had a smile.

"Thank you for having a talk with Hinata. When I confront her about her she usually turns into a mess." Kurenai told him.

Yamato shrugged. "Just because we are teaching different kids, doesn't mean we can't help them out. I can feel that she feels quite motivated by their drive and enthusiasm." Yamato admitted.

"It's no surprise on how you can get along with people Yamato. Do you do this often with your teammates in Anbu?" Kurenai asked him.

Yamato nodded. "Of course I did, I found out that people need a talk once in awhile to let out their feelings. I usually have a good serious talk with my students during the morning beforehand, lunch, and after the day is done." Yamato told her.

Kurenai nodded. "I see, but it's hard to connect with children due to our circumstances growing up."

Yamato nodded. "True, we may be different from our students in some form and manner." He agreed. "Sandaime Hokage believes we can make this generation great and he assigned us as teachers. He placed Kakashi-senpai as Sasuke's teacher to help him teamwork to help avoid another tragedy like his. Asuma was placed as Team 10's sensei since he understands their mindset."

"Then what about me?" Kurenai asked.

Yamato shrugged. "Quite simple, you prove that women can handle tough jobs too. You care about the growth of other people, despite being a new jonin. You are someone that communicates with other's well, despite the mishap of teaching Yakumo. It never stopped you from improving did it, almost like Hinata in a way." Yamato explained as he walked.

She smiled and nodded walking with him. _"I can see why the Hokage picked you other than for your ability Yamato. You want to work hard and be noticed for your effort. Just like your students in your own way."_ She thought.

.X.

 **The chapter is over now and I tried typing it and a timely manner as I contemplated my next step. So bear with me as I produce another growth chapter or two before I get to the meat and potatoes.**

 **Bigfan22: Hayate and Yugao will help play a part in the next chapter. For the Uzumaki fighting style you referred was more fan based than anything. However, there was one style that did pop up from Ryoshi Morino. Ryuu no Mai (Dancing dragon) from Seeing Red. The only person that learned from Kushina a fighting style would most likely be Raido. One of the Hokage's actual elite bodyguards he created.**

 **123: says to forget the mission and it's tempting it's has been overdone to death. So skipping it would be a smart thing to an author trying to entertain their readers.**

 **Rex4487: thanks for the compliment for the different test I gave. I doubt adding a few twists would be a good idea to Wave country I may let Team 7 take it or maybe not. Doing an arc of the least traveled countries like River, Suna, and Kuso would be fun.**

 **Cemedina1: I know Danzo can use the wind element, but he has kept up the facade of unable to do jutsu with one hand for quite some time. Not a lot of people would want to give their children off to be trained for him for several reasons. He had forced several clans in nature to give their children for his ideals.**

 **Greenmongoose: I know Wave is important since it's the first ever jonin fight in the actual series. Who knows I may include both a new arc and Wave country to settle this problem.**

 **Drakenn: Wave is a cliche by now thanks to a thousands of stories wrote by others. Repeating the same actions doesn't sound enticing. I have seen Kenchi's version and thought it was more plausible than anything. I have an idea on what the first mission they will take in my mind."**

 **However I hope you all enjoy the story and review. I will see you guys later Kazama out!**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but if I did I wouldn't be writing on fanfiction making alternate scenarios to piss off viewers.

 **Ch.8 First field deployment**

.X.

As the sun was slowing rising in Konohagakure. Yakumo and Honoka were doing their morning stretches as they waited for Sakura to appear along with their sensei for a week.

Honoka looked around. "Do you think Sakura will be late?" Honoka asked her.

Yakumo shrugged. "I don't know, but if she isn't prepared herself mentally for this training. She will fall flat on her face if she does. If she comes from Anbu like sensei we will be having a long training session." She pointed out.

As they saw the pink haired girl finally made it to the field. She noticed the two were already stretching. "Good morning Honoka and Yakumo, are you guys already exercising." Sakura asked her.

Yakumo quickly replied. "Our sensei for the week is Yugao Uzuki and she works in from Anbu just like Kakashi and Yamato-sensei. We are not going to get some light work and then go on a D-rank Sakura." She explained.

"At least two have a correct mindset, but your sensory skills are non-existent." A voice called out. As they noticed a blur appear behind Sakura as leaves trailed. They noticed the woman with pink hair, warm brown eyes, and red lipstick. She wore an off duty anbu uniform with a sword on her back.

Honoka scratched her head. "Naruto-kun was the sensor on the team." She admitted.

Yugao ordered Sakura to go through some stretching exercises. "True, but everyone should at least expand their capabilities to other area. Becoming a sensory ninja has many benefits to the user depending on their jobs. I for one am a sensory specialist and it helps you fight in the dark, detecting seal traps, and enemies unseen by the eye. If you compound this skill with medical Ninjutsu you can detect the wounded person or an incoming enemy." She lectured.

Yakumo nodded. "It's also great for setting up seal traps yourself if you know when the enemy is coming." She reasoned.

Yugao nodded. "Correct, but let's get to the heart of the matter now." She told them as she turned towards Sakura. "Kakashi has asked me to give you a reality check Sakura and if your motivations to become a Kunoichi is based on shallow love. I will ask you to leave right now if you aren't serious in getting stronger."

Yakumo and Honoka turned dead quiet as Sakura froze for a moment. "Well, I didn't join the Academy at first to be with Sasuke." Sakura truthfully admitted.

Yugao nodded. "Sakura, what do you really know about Sasuke Uchiha other than the facts you learned by others."

Sakura turned quiet. "Not much…"

Yugao sighed. "If someone is not giving you the time or respect, it's best to rethink what love truly is. Now to address the other problem you have done over the years. You have been dieting for quite some time and the Academy advised you not to. You do realize using chakra helps burns off calories more than exercise at times. The Akimichi clan has proven that it's a true fact. I want you to stop dieting otherwise you won't have the energy to get through training or in the field." Yugao explained.

Sakura nodded as Yugao tossed a nutritional pamphlet. "Yes, ma'am." She understood.

"This is not to berate you, but you are throwing away your potential. You have a great chakra control for your age and you can do so many things if you put your mind to it." Yugao lectured her as she turned to the other two. "Just because Sakura does have problems doesn't mean you two don't have any at all. If you are trying to make it to Jonin one day you need push harder in area you don't like."

"Yes ma'am." As they nodded as Yugao nodded.

"Now let's start your training before the sun rises even more." She told them.

Honoka spoke up. "I wonder how Naruto is doing…" she muttered.

Yugao gave a chuckle. "Naruto is with Hayate-kun and they have been practicing since five o'clock."

The girls looked in shock. "He woke up that early to train?" Yakumo asked him.

"Hayate takes his training very seriously and wielding a blade is dangerous without proper guidance. Now I will start off with a hundred laps around the field first and I will join you." Yugao told her.

Sakura looked on in shock as Honoka and Yakumo groaned. "We are wearing 'resistance' seals still." Honoka whined.

"They don't stop building up resistance since we adjust to it." Yakumo informed her.

Yugao quickly nodded. "It's not that too different from Anbu initiate training in a way. The field is shorter than running around Konoha's walls." She told them as the girls groaned.

As it took a good two hours of running exercises as all the girls were trying to stand on their feet. As they breathed quite hard after the rough Taijutsu sparring. Yugao had to correct their fighting styles and help Sakura the most.

She made a ram seal to dispel an illusion over the area. She saw the training course built by Yamato as it hard obstacle course containing: rock walls, targets, pits, and mud walls. The three looked unsettled by this new revelation.

"Yamato has dedicated his skills in making a challenging obstacle course. This simulates outdoor battles and urban combat. The dummies here are specially designed puppet' he help created with the R&D division over the years. The dummies in general use the basic chakra strings and sealing to make them move how we want. They have real weapons and they can hurt you." Yugao carefully explained as the she turned towards her students. "For the one who has the lowest time on the course you will be forced to take a D-rank of my choosing."

As the girls groaned in pain. "Damn it, Naruto get's to avoid this hell." Yakumo muttered.

.X.

 _(Naruto's Pov)_

Naruto sighed as he held a wooden sword in his hands as the word gravity was written on it. As it lay beside him. As he had iron bracelets with the word gravity on each of arms and legs. He wore iron geta sandals. He stood there bowing trying to get his breath as Hayate had his arms crossed across his chest. He wore the same stuff as him as he didn't look tired.

"You have a good grasp of Kenjutsu Naruto-kun, well the basics. I am quite surprised to see you last this long, but do you realize why I am not tired as you." Hayate asked him.

"Because you moved first." He told him.

As he nodded. "Correct Kenjutsu and Taijutsu run along the same principles in a way. The sword is merely an extension of your body. In most cases the person who acts first usually have the advantage and in your case you try as hard to get a stalemate." Hayate lectured. "Mental visualization is key for battle and no matter what you do. I merely made the first move I see a hundred moves ahead."

"So that's why you can read my moves, you already anticipated my counters reacting a certain way." Naruto reasoned.

"Correct, knowing a person's body movement is key for battle. The Sharingan itself was key how they stole a majority of Taijutsu moves from opponents. By watching their feet you can tell what they are doing as well. Now stand up so we can get to the next phase of training." He told him as he did the splits with ease. "I need you to become more limber and bend at angles more." Hayate told him.

Naruto followed as he slowly did the splits as he felt the burn as he raised his arms in the pressed them downwards. He followed Hayate's movements to doing a handstand pushup. They started doing 50 pushups as Hayate quickly got up to his feet as Naruto followed.

"Let's try this again Naruto, and this time you should focus on whipping around faster so you slash the enemy." Hayate told him. As the two got into stance for a moment.

Hayte struck first as Naruto blocked as they went through several sword swings. As Naruto tried controlling the flow of battle as Hayate was moving like a blur with his sword.

" _Damn it, why he is so fast with his sword. He is creating after images with his arms and body."_ Naruto thought.

He quickly used the shunshin as Hayate followed suit as the sound of clashing was heard throughout the forest.

Naruto stopped as he pulsed his chakra around. To track as he felt two signatures coming from both sides.

He blocked one side only to get hit in the back. He quickly swiped back trying to hit the other figure as he saw double.

" _A clone that splits chakra in half and it has a shadow."_ Naruto thought. As he quickly whipped around as he focused chakra to his blade. He made a half dragon seal as Hayate noticed it.

Several kaze bunshin's appeared as a blur appeared and cut through as he engaged Naruto. "So it looks you can form clones with one hand sign, huh. If you chakra control was better you wouldn't need any like I." he told him.

As Hayate parried Naruto's sword up leaving him exposed as Hayate's clone came from the side hitting him in the ribs making him flinch. The real spun and kicked him in the face knocking, him to the ground.

Naruto huffed as he saw the clone was followed up with another attack. He rolled to his side as he was attacked again. He began flicking his sword around to block the two as he danced around them.

"Damn…" he muttered.

He felt his shoulder from behind was hit by something. He was slammed into the ground as Naruto looked up to see another clone of Hayate.

"Three clones…" he muttered, trying to get up.

Hayate nodded. "The Kage bunshin jutsu has its perks unlike elemental clones. They aren't limited by range and they are great for scouting. The downside of this jutsu is the fact it splits your chakra into how many clones you make. I split my chakra into three parts, reducing my combat potential. It's a forbidden B-rank jutsu that you learn until you have jonin level charka. In your case you it's a doable thing for you since you have a high chakra reserve, but it would be helpful. They dispel with ease when they take a good hit.

"I didn't even see the clone at all." Naruto muttered as they saw Hayate the clones disappear.

"Toton (transparent escape) jutsu is very helpful when sneaking around or to hide in battle. I made the third one after you used your Chakra Hyouteii jutsu." Hayate told him as they dispelled. "It was a jutsu I learned from Jiraiya-sama when I was a kid. Now take a five minute break before you go to ninjutsu training."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, sir."

He sat down as he took out out two jutsu scrolls out. He looked them over to check their names. Futon Kaze Dangan no jutsu (wind bullets) and Futon Daitoppa (great breakthrough). One acted like Honoka's Hosenka jutsu that was meant for specific targets or a distraction. Great breakthrough can be scaled to act like Gale palm or be destructive to blow everything away.

Hayate took him into a field that was almost barren except for a few trees and boulders. Naruto took a gulp of water from his canteen as he got off the ground. He put away his canteen and strapped his bokken to his waist.

As Hayate stood up now as he stood in front of him again with his bokken. "Break time's over and since we lack targets I will substitute myself for them." He announced. He coughed into his fist for a moment. "The goal of the exercise is to keep me away from strike range. If I hit you ten times, you will run around Konoha ten times. Full speed without walking one bit."

Naruto gulped. "This is my first time practicing the jutsu, Hayate-sensei." Naruto reminded him.

Hayate nodded. "I know, but not everyone is going to be ready or prepared in the battle field. Sometimes you might have to work with limited information, weapons, teammates, and chakra. Since you are a natural wind user it stands to reason you can do this in your sleep." Hayate explained.

He charged forward as Naruto quickly made the bird hand seal as he breathed in for a moment as he expelled several bullets of air as Hayate dodged them with ease.

"I can still predict your moves!"

Naruto used his Shunshin jutsu and sped forward shocking Hayate and stepped into the blow blocking with bokken.

"Futon: Daitoppa!" Naruto shouted as huge gust of wind erupted in the area knocking Hayate into the air.

" _I didn't expect him to throw out such a huge gale for a first try. Getting close to him when will be a problem, if he can do this jutsu more than ten times."_ Hayate thought. He saw wooden shuriken flying through the air as he quickly blocked them as he landed gracefully on the ground. He saw Naruto shooting a high pressurized water at him as he bobbed and weave through the attack.

"I may need to get rougher with him." Hayate muttered as afterimages followed his wake. Naruto sent out another huge gust of wind to stop him in his tracks.

.X.

Yugao stood over the girls as she their ninjutsu training was going slow by far. The girls didn't have a large amount of chakra compared to Naruto, but Sakura was no doubt the lowest of the group.

Honoka was trying to learn the Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (Great Fireball) as well the Earth Walking technique for the Doton: Shinju Zanshu no jutsu (Double suicide decapitation). He told her to hold using the fireball technique since it drained so much chakra. She hard a time sinking into solid ground unlike the sand, she practiced in earlier. Her fireball itself was small still for it's size only going a short distance.

Yakumo had a mixture of ninjutsu and genjutsu scrolls as she predictably learned the latter more easily. Raiton: Raigen Raikochu no jutsu (Lightning illusion flash pillar) used a brilliant flash to place a person into a genjutsu. Her Ninjutsu on the other hand shocked her a few times when she tried using it. Raiton: Jibashi no jutsu (electromagnetic murder).

She made sure that Yakumo taught Sakura Demonic hell viewing genjutsu, since her reserves were still low. As she made sure to teach her personally the Suiton: Suidan no jutsu (water bullet) since it matched her affinity. It was all a slow start at first, but they were doing good for learning new Ninjutsu.

She turned as she heard a coughing noise coming from afar. She saw Hayate covered in dust as she couldn't help, but smile at him.

"Did you have any fun training Naruto?" She asked him.

Hayate coughed and shrugged. "He is a chakra battery and he has stamina that matches his mother's." He explained. "He picks up on learning his wind jutsu quickly, but I suspect other elements like earth and fire are hard for him still."

Yugao nodded. "So where is he?" She asked.

Hayate pointed to the walls of Konoha. "He has to run ten laps around Konoha full speed, since I hit two times. I was forced to use my 'Flash' technique on him to bridge the distance. He shot up several maelstroms of wind to stop my forward assault." Hayate explained.

"Ten laps around Konoha wearing weight seals, that seems a little harsh." She told him.

He shrugged. "The enemy doesn't care if you tired, hurt, or not prepared for the situation at hand." He reasoned as he coughed. He looked down at the girls on the ground. "So how are the girls' doing with their training went?"

Yugao shrugged. "They get the concept of their jutsu down perfectly, but pulling it off is difficult for them. They need to increase their chakra reserves and control of the jutsu before they even use it in battle." She told him.

Hayate looked at his watch as he saw it was getting close to 11 o'clock now. "Kakashi should be getting here now by the looks of it to pick up Sakura." He told her as they saw a swirl of leaves appear before them Kakashi appeared before them.

He gave a wave to them. "Good morning to you two? I am late to pick up Sakura." He asked them.

Yugao shook her head and smiled. "You aren't late in picking her up, but what are the other two doing?" Yugao asked him.

Kakashi slung Sakura over his shoulder as she groaned. "They are doing morning exercises and waiting on me to pick Sakura up for missions." He told her.

Yugao spoke up. "Since she came out last today during training, I get to pick the mission, she will undertake for the day Kakashi." She told him as he nodded.

"I am guessing the mission requires more physical effort, huh?" He guessed as Yugao nodded.

"Of course," she agreed as she turned to the other two. "You might as well take these two with you as well to the mission office. They have to complete two d-ranks for the day." She told him.

Kakashi turned towards the other girls. "Come on you guys' get up, you guys have to take missions today." He ordered them.

They slowly got off the ground and nodded. "Yes, sir," Honoka muttered as her stomach rumbled as she blushed in embarrassment.

Yakumo stumbled as she rubbed her sore legs. "What about Naruto, where is he?" She asked him.

Hayate spoke up. "He will be at the Hokage's tower shortly, so you can take your time to recover. We will meet around the same time tomorrow for training." Hayate explained as they used the body flicker jutsu together.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't want to train with Yugao-sensei anymore…" Sakura complained.

Kakashi gave an upside down smile on his face. "Well, you know the old saying _"No pain, no gain"_ Sakura." He told her. Yakumo and Honoka trudged after Kakashi.

Yakumo finally gained enough energy to speak to him. "Kakashi-sensei, can you give me a few pointers on what the Raiton element can do?" She asked him.

Kakashi shrugged. "I don't mind since, but you have to treat us to lunch." He suggested as Yakumo nodded.

She reached for her wallet and looked at it. She pouted looking at her money. "I am running low again…" she muttered.

Honoka looked in her wallet too, and frowned. "Me too… sorry I can't help Yakumo." She muttered.

Yakumo nodded. "Knowing Naruto he always have money on him. He makes a killing selling explosive tags' to stores since they don't want to buy from the manufacturers'. I can easily ask him for money for your lunch." She told him.

Kakashi giggled. "Really, you are going to convince him to pay for it." He asked.

Yakumo quickly answered. "One explosive tag in question costs 150 ryo and upwards for special tags with bigger radius, time, and other things. I am sure he wouldn't mind, last Sunday he treated Asuma and his team to dinner with ease for information on Futon jutsu." Yakumo explained.

Kakashi nodded. "Well, if he is generous as you say it wouldn't be a problem then." He joked.

" _It seems like Naruto has a real knack for picking up Fuinjutsu, huh. From Yamato has said he is beginning to dabble in creating his own seals._ " Kakashi thought.

.X.

Team 3 finally managed to get together by the tower with Team 7. They managed to clean themselves up before heading into the tower.

Tai and Sasuke noticed Sakura was walking slow as she moaned. Naruto sighed as he gave his hard earned money to Kakashi in exchange for the information Yakumo needed for her report. Honoka stayed close to Yakumo away from Sasuke.

"Sakura, was your training with that woman that bad?" Tai asked her.

Sakura groaned. "Yes… she is a demon…" she muttered.

"A demon huh, well that is to be expected since I help lead an Anbu team." A voice called out as Sakura looked up in fear.

The group turned to see Yugao standing there with a scroll in hand as Kakashi shook his head. "Sakura, you should know better than to talk about your superiors like that." Kakashi lectured as Yugao tossed the scroll to Sakura.

"This is the mission I picked out for your team, since you lagged behind in training." She told them as Sasuke spoke up.

"Wait, you picked the mission?" He asked her as the Anbu captain nodded.

"Of course, I already told Kakashi-san about assigning you the mission. Since she is lagging behind in her training because of no motivation for herself." Yugao told them.

"How is it our fault she doesn't take the time to train?" Sasuke argued as Tai stayed quiet.

"Damn it Sasuke…" Tai muttered backing up.

Yugao shrugged. "It has to do with everything Sasuke, a team is only strong as its weakest link. The fact you aren't stepping up to fix this problem shows you are still a boy in mind." Yugao told him as Tai laughed as Sasuke frowned as she glared at him. "You can frown all you want, but your lone wolf attitude will get you killed. Don't think I don't know about your revenge plan on your brother. It's doomed to fail the moment you started."

As everyone turned quiet. "You don't know…"

"I do know what he did that night, I was the first on the scene back then helping you to the Hospital." Yugao told him as he shut up. "You let him dominate your thoughts and think solely about revenge. Way to go he has already won the battle over you. He controls your very thoughts and then know automatically you will cling to tradition. A predictable pattern to him trying to match up to the things he knows already."

"Damn…" Tai muttered.

Kakashi stayed quiet as Yugao lectured Sasuke. "Go on continue not helping anyone, and get your team killed. No one wants to assign anyone important tasks to people who can't work in teams'." She told him.

They noticed Hayate coughing from behind. "True, being individualist has its problem working with a system such as ours. It may work in Kirigakure for the time being, but the system itself is no good." He explained to Sasuke.

Kakashi nodded. "As you can see Sasuke, no matter what rank we are. We still need teamwork to achieve our goals'. The village system doesn't run on one man as well, nor the security measures." Kakashi lectured him as he ushered his team as Sakura looked worried.

Tai chuckled. "She called you out not being a man…" he muttered

Sakura spoke up now. "Tai, that is enough!" She shouted.

Tai shrugged. "It's not my fault you didn't want to train seriously. Besides that you have still have six days with Yugao-san, huh." He reminded her as Sakura sighed.

"Man, he got burned…" Naruto muttered.

Team 3 turned to Yugao as she tossed them 3 scrolls. "I even took the time to assign you some D-ranks myself, since two of you need money to buy certain things. I know I gave one more than usual, but you need it. Since doing D-rank missions' in general don't pay genin too well, since you have to split the pay." Yugao told them.

Team 3 nodded as Yakumo looked through the missions she gave them. "Cleaning and maintaining the hospital grounds'. Delivering a bakery their supplies for the next morning shift. Pick up reports from the gate watchers Izumo and Kotetsu" Yakumo read off the paper.

"Go complete those missions and then go see Rin for her lesson tonight." Yugao ordered as the three dispersed via Shunshin jutsu.

A man watched from overhead that had a white spiky hair and his black coal eyes looking down on the scene. He had red lines streaking down his face that complimented his forehead protector with the word oil on it. He had a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wears mesh armour that is visible on his wrists and ankles. He also wears hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side.

He turned to Hiruzen who was smoking his pipe and Yamato sitting in the room. "So that is Naruto he sure has grown, since I last saw him, huh. He even got two cutie teammates two that will no doubt grow into fine women in the future." he muttered as he the rail turned into wooden spikes.

"It would be best if you refrain from saying such a thing or visiting the Hot springs in the future. My student Honoka loves visiting them after training." Yamato warned him.

Jiraiya waved it off. "I go after girls' of a certain legal age limit, not children like Orochimaru." He told him.

Hiruzen sighed. "Can you at least update me on what is going on in the world?" Hiruzen asked him as Jiraiya sat down on the pillow.

"We aren't going to wait for your advisors' to come to the meeting?" Jiraiya asked.

Sarutobi nodded. "Of course not, but did you find out any new information on Oto no Kuni?" He asked him.

Jiraiya quickly answered. "I did, but you aren't going to like what I tell you." He told him as Sarutobi glared at him. "The person who leads the village is a mystery, but he has several operatives going throughout the elemental nations. The village itself isn't like our system at all and it seems it's like a multiple area of operation. Right now the Yondaime Kazekage is trying to get into contact with it's leader, but so far unsuccessful."

Yamato spoke up. "You couldn't get any information at all about the new country?" Yamato asked him.

Sarutobi nodded. "Someone is using seals to ensure their silence for now. As well, many are scared to speak or loyal to their leader. Many of the clans in Ta no Kuni are unified under his banner to revive their former glory. However, that isn't imperative to what has been going on lately."

"I am guessing our spy has information on Akatsuki?" Hiruzen asked.

It left Yamato a bit confused. "The Akatsuki, who are they?" He asked.

Jiraiya answered him. "The people that might be after Naruto in the future for the tailed beast that resides in him." He finished as he pulled out some documents and placed them on the desk. "So far there were 10 members at first until Orochimaru left the organization with a bit of bad blood between them."

"So there are only nine of them to deal with, right?" Hiruzen asked him.

Jiraiya nodded. "Correct, but they aren't pushovers they all are S-rank ninja and very destructive. I already know a few of the members' by name: Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara of the explosion corps, Hoshigaki Kisame the Monster of the Mist, and Uchiha Itachi is one we are familiar with."

"We don't have any other information on their other members?" Yamato asked.

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, no and the reason behind is the fact it may blow his cover. He believes one of the Akatsuki spies is in the village and naming the rest would draw suspicion against him." Jiraiya explained.

Hiruzen frowned. "Another spy trying to infiltrate the village…"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Now that you mention it, didn't you assign Kisuke Maboroshi to hunt down a spy. What has happened to him?"

Yamato spoke up. "He is in the hospital in a coma, apparently they thought it was suicide. They think that that his wife was forced to come with her. She may have died by drowning in the river with him. That her body was carried out to sea." Yamato explained.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah the stress of trying to complete the mission caused him grief and sorrow." He sarcastically muttered.

Hiruzen nodded. "True, it does sound suspicious in nature, do you want me to follow up with another search?" He asked him.

Jiraiya waved it off. "No, it would draw only suspicion to that spy, you will need to place someone not too high up in the food chain. Someone you can trust without a doubt…" he reminded them as he rubbed his chin. "What about your team Yamato? Can they do it?" He asked him.

A shocked expression washed over Yamato now. "You want to them to investigate a cold case all alone?" he asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Why not, you have been treating those three to some harsh training for being new rookies, right. It's like you are training them for Anbu in the future seeing how they train. Let's say this mission would be good experience for them or maybe I can borrow them for a bit in the future."

.X.

Hiruzen's eyebrows rose up in interest. "I see…" as he turned to Yamato. "Do you have any planned missions you wanted to take.

Yamato lifted up a report from his lap that listed C-ranks. "I was really interested in a few of them, but Asuma-san beat me to one. Delivering supplies to the Monks at the Fire Temple and Kurenai-san reserved a mission to border patrol near Kumogakure front." he told him trying to make up his mind. He handed the list of C-ranks back to the Hokage.

"I see, wait until you take command of your team and visit the mission assignment desk, then for a mission." Sarutobi advised. "I know you have high hopes in your team, but overall you should take it easy with them. Becoming a jounin and Kage is a bit far off for them, but I admire you for pushing them in the right direction." Sarutobi explained.

Jiraiya smirked. "Big goals for some kids." he admired giving his own smirk as Yamato nodded.

.X.

A week had passed as Team 3 was assembled by the tower as they saw Yamato waiting there patiently. He checked his pocket watch from his vest to see they had arrived a good fifteen minutes early.

"I see that everyone is here and on time. Good and I can see your little training session with Yugao and Hayate has changed your perspectives' now." Yamato greeted them.

As the three nodded in agreement as Yamato nodded. "Did any of you learn any techniques not on the scrolls I gave you?"

Naruto raised his hand up first. "I learned how to use the Kage Bunshin during my training with Hayate-san." Naruto proudly told their captain.

Honoka spoke up now. "I learned Doton: Doryuso no jutsu (Earth flow spears)." she told them.

Yakumo added on. "I learned the Kanashibari no jutsu (temporary paralysis jutsu).

Yamato nodded. "They all are great jutsu to have, but don't stress yourself out learning new techniques okay. It's best to master the ones you have before going on to learn new ones." he lectured them as they nodded. He motioned them inside the tower for a mission.

"Are we finally taking a C-rank Yamato-sensei?" Yakumo enthusiastically asked him.

He gave a light chuckle. "Of course, you all have the maturity to seek out a C-rank now." he reassured them.

"How many other teams' have a taken a c-rank before us?" Naruto asked.

Yamato quickly answered. Kurenai-san and Asuma-san are currently on a c-rank mission. Namely a delivery mission and border patrol mission between the two." he told them as they finally made it to the mission desk.

They saw Team 7 already inside the mission assignment room about to leave. They could see Tai had a smile on his face and Sasuke a slight smirk. Sakura looked a bit worried as Kakashi looked a bit of relaxed.

"Hello Yamato and Team 3," Kakashi greeted them.

Yamato and Team 3 greeted the masked man politely along with his team. Kakashi sighed,seeing this and looked back to his team. "Why couldn't I have good natured students' like yours Yamato."

Tai spoke. "Because you come late to every meeting you assign." Tai informed them.

Sakura nodded. "You pawned me off to Yugao-san and trains people like a demon." Sakura muttered in agreement.

Yakumo and Honoka nodded. "True, she wasn't pulling any punches during training."

Naruto shrugged. "Hayate-san's training was nothing to scoff at all. I had to wake up 5 o'clock in the morning for training, while you guys slept in your bed." Naruto reminded them as they feigned ignorance on that part.

Sasuke shrugged. "Well,whatever, we just got a C-rank mission so we need to move out now." he stated.

Kakashi nodded as Yamato spoke up. "What mission did you pick up senpai?" he asked them.

"We need to find a man named Gemai from Inaho village who went missing. There are not a lot of details on why he went missing, but the village assumes it was bandits." Kakashi told them as he looked at the clock. "Since Inaho village is a bit far away,I want you to pack for a week of traveling on foot."

The three nodded as Naruto spoke up. "Do you guys use, storage scrolls when you pack?" Naruto asked them.

Sakura spoke up. "Storage scrolls?" Sakura asked as Tai and Sasuke turned towards them.

Yamato sighed, looking at his senpai. "Are you serious senpai? You never told them how to use storage scrolls?" Yamato asked him.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, it must have slipped my mind?" he told them.

"Slipped your mind, what does that mean?" Tai asked him. "Why didn't you tell us there was an easier way of carrying things."

Kakashi looked over to Naruto now. "Maybe you should explain the finer details of sealing to Naruto? Just having a storage scroll doesn't equate carrying things being too easy." Kakashi told him.

Naruto nodded. "Okay, but explaining all the details to sealing will be long and difficult." he announced. "Making basic storage scrolls sounds easy, but overall tedious in nature. There can be no mistakes in your writing when doing this. Furthermore the array used and the formula makeup,it's basic components. Elemental nature, math equations, and astrological signs are another thing altogether."

Sasuke felt irritated. "Get to the point Naruto." Sasuke demanded.

Naruto shrugged. "Fine Sasuke, just having a sealing scroll doesn't equate you can just seal anything in it. There is a limit to what you can place in them unless you customize it. For instance the ones you buy at the store can't seal up bodies or huge carts due to their basic formula. I am not accounting for the mass of the object too." Naruto explained.

Sakura spoke up. "So a basic storage scroll can handle only the most basic of things like food packs, kunais', and shurikens." Sakura pointed out as Naruto nodded.

"So how much do they cost?" Tai asked him.

Yakumo spoke up. "A basic storage scroll goes for 500 Ryo a pop." she answered them.

As their eyes look flabbergasted. "That sounds like a rip off!" Tai and Sakura shouted.

Yamato nodded. "Maybe, but Shinobi in question, many stay away from Fuinjutsu because it's dangerous territory and the lack of effort to learn it. So people who help make storage scrolls and explosive tags have a good business for the chakra conductive paper, ink, and the labor that goes into them.

Yamato looked at Kakashi. "Have you told them how to prepare for a mission senpai?"

Team 7 looked at their sensei with a shocked expression as Kakashi sighed. "It looks like I have to go over the rules of packing for a mission. I thought the Academy in question would teach all of this stuff for you."

Honoka spoke up. "It's okay Kakashi-sensei we know you try your hardest." Honoka apologized for him.

Yamato stepped forward to talk to Team 7 along with Kakashi making sure they got some key details down.

The rest of Team 3 stood ready in front of the Hokage for a mission. As Yamato joined the group now. "Team 3 reporting in for duty sir," he announced.

The Hokage looked at their papers. "You all have been very busy and patient unlike,the other teams." he pointed out as he looked at Yamato. "Do you think they are ready for a C-rank?"

Yamato nodded. "They are ready for a C-rank sir," he told him.

The Hokage looked down at the C-rank list for an appropriate mission.

" _Team 3 is a bit different from the teams' in nature. Something that can test their skills."_ he thought as he looked over to Iruka.

"Do we have a C-rank fit for for them to take Iruka-kun?" Hiruzen asked the scarred man.

The man looked up hesitantly now, since he hadn't adjusted to being addressed by the Hokage directly. He looked up at Team 3 now. "We have several missions that might suit them, are you sure they are prepared Yamato-san?"

Yamato nodded. "Of course they are ready Iruka-sensei. I made sure to prepare their mind, body, and spirit if they were to encounter a foe on a mission." he reassured the chunin. "Besides that,I have Yugao and Hayate's approval that they are definitely ready for the mission."

Iruka nodded in approval as the Hokage chuckled,knowing his all too well about Iruka's worry about his students. "Now that is out the way, Iruka why don't you get that mission we set aside earlier." The chunin looked a bit surprised at the request, but he complied.

The Sandaime flipped open the mission file. "I originally thought Kakashi's team could handle this task, but your team is more suited for this task. As well you don't have a glaring problem with teamwork compared to them. Our client has a schedule to keep and it's bad for business to keep clients waiting too long." the old man rambled on. Naruto gave a chuckled at the what the Hokage projected to the group. Honoka and Yakumo felt an ease at the Hokage's friendly behavior. It was easy to be at ease who appeared eccentric, rather than a living legend.

Naruto knew all too well how serious the man could be, given the right situation. He had seen many times even with the incident with Mizuki.

"Send in Tazuna-san," the elder Sarutobi ordered Iruka. "It's a standard bodyguard mission. You'll be escorting Tazuna to his home country in Nami no Kuni (land of waves). The full mission includes a month long stay in Wave Country and overseeing the completion of Tazuna-san's bridge." He passed the information packet to Yamato to look over it. Yamato gave a quick once over as he nodded once, sharply.

The door opened behind the trio of genin, as they swiveled their heads to see an old man dressed in working clothes. He had a scraggly beard and he was holding a large sake bottle. "Where are my bodyguards? I know I paid for them and who are these brats?" he grumbled, as he adjusted his glasses.

Yakumo and Naruto glared at the man as Honoka frowned. His breath smelled like cheap rice wine.

The Hokage chuckled behind them. " _These_ are your bodyguards, Tazuna-san. I assure you they are quite well trained and prepared, despite their age. Team 3 is one of the of foremost genin teams."

The man scoffed. "Could've fooled me. A blond wannabe swordsman, princess, and pink haired idol. Is this the best you have to offer?"

Three gening glared even more at him for disrespecting as the Hokage spoke up now. "Rest assured, they are quite competent. Even so Yamato is one of my most talented Jonin that has served me for years. Should any trouble arise,they cannot handle, he will be more than capable." Yamato nodded with a smile.

The old man huffed. "If you say so Hokage, but I thought I could get a super ninja with my money."

"If you are willing to pay a higher price, I would happily assign you a team of chunin. Would that satisfy, Tazuna-san?" Sandaime pleasantly asked.

The bridged builder looked nervous for a moment , but collected himself. "Ah, no, that won't be necessary."

"In that case I bid you a safe journey." he told them.

Yamato motioned them out the room. He looked over to Tazuna now. "Since you are hosting us to live with you. I am guessing we will need to bring at least of month's food with us." Yamato guessed.

Tazuna nodded. "Of course, I used every ounce of the money I had to pay for the mission, right now." he told them.

Yamato turned towards to Tazuna. "We will meet you at the gate in an hour Tazuna-san. We will need to pick up at least a month's worth of food and some other things before we leave to Wave." he explained to him.

Tazuna nodded. "Fine, I will be at the gate in an hour, but don't be late. I have a schedule to keep with building my bridge." he told them as he made his leave towards the gate.

Yakumo spoke up now after he gained some distance away from them. "You know he seems really nervous for some reason." she picked up.

Yamato nodded. "I know, and I want you three to be on guard when we leave the gate. Naruto will use your sensory ability to detect any enemies. Honoka will guard the right and move as a vanguard for the client. Yakumo you will guard the left and use genjutsu to disorient people from attacking the client." Yamato carefully explained as he turned to Naruto. "For faster responses I want you to carry the client to safety in an emergency, but you will be stationed in the front since you carry a sword. I will guard the rear formation and we will revolve formation depending on what happens in the future."

Team 3 nodded as Honoka spoke up. "What type of food do we bring to eat for the whole month away from home?" she asked him.

Naruto spoke up. "I can bring all my food from my house since, no will be there to eat it. I have at least a month's worth of food plans I picked up from Choji's dad as well Akimichi's rations." Naruto offered.

Yamato nodded. "That sounds okay, but be sure to bring more than enough to at least feed at least eight people just in case." he reminded Naruto as he turned to address them all. "During this trip, I will be teaching you the next step of chakra control so please bring your bathing suits along. As well, let's do an a current inventory check on your weapons, right now."

The three nodded as they pulled out their pouches and weapon. He went through the holsters, pouches, and personal weapons. He made sure they worked and had no defects in them.

.X.

After an hour was up as Team 3 managed to leave the safety of the village, despite Tazuna's drinking. As they trudged down the road and assumed their positions down the road.

At Yamato's request Naruto was pulsing out his chakra every kilometer, or scanning so far just in case. His allies stayed alert at their stations, eyes scanning the trees on either side calmly. More than one person had already assured them, there was little chance of obstruction, let alone anything more dangerous than a bandit. Yamato stood serious as he looked around his surroundings as he occasionally checked the rear of the formation. Scenery came and went by as they passed through the forest, glades, over rivers, and intersected roads.

Around midday, after a brief break, they had shuffled positions, as Honoka set the pace in front of them, keeping a closer than earlier. Yakumo continued watching the left as Naruto watched the front. Yamato glanced and noticed the puddle of water as did the group. Yakumo gave a few subtle hand signs to Yamato.

 _Obvious trap ahead, holding at least 2 to three hostiles. How do we proceed?_

Yamato signed back to the group. _Spring the trap_ Yamato gave a few hands signs. _Primary mission objective_

Yamato dropped back from the group as they slipped in a triangle manji formation not letting Tazuna realize what was happening.

Seconds later there was a violent metallic clinking, accompanied by a strong killer intent. Naruto quickly placed his right hand on his sword as Yakumo readied her kunai, and Honoka her fists. But they were too slow. Yamato's eyes widened up as the barbed chains pulled tight around him, their lengths attached to two cloaked shinobi that appeared from the water. The barbs of the chains dug viciously as the pair chanted together.

"First one," they snarled as they retracted their chains in a blink of an eye. The genins quickly saw the replacement with a small genjutsu covering his tracks. As the duo thought their target died with ease.

Tazuna looked on with fear as Team 3 saw the two were using Shunshin no jutsu to close the distance.

"Second one," the echo came behind Naruto.

"I don't think so!" Naruto shouted as he quickly flicked his sword out of the sheath cloaked with chakra. As he sliced through the chain shocking the two. The ninja fell off balance as he soon clapped his hands. A gust of air blew them apart from each other.

Honoka stepped in with a flurry of punches hitting the one in the throat. She quickly grabbed one their arms holding the gauntlets. As she threw him into the other and spun with a kick knocking them down.

The two hit the ground and rolled to their feet disconnecting their chains. They looked up to see Tazuna standing there in fear as Yakumo guarded him with a kunai.

The two used a shunshin to get around the two and head towards Tazuna full speed from both sides. Their claws positioned to strike the bridge builder. As they striked at thin air as they saw Yakumo and Tazuna disappear into thin air.

As the two slammed into each other hard,causing the two to stumble. As an elaborate wire trap wrapped around their bodies. As it dug in deep into their bodies as Yakumo stood to the side holding one wire in her hand. She made a couple of seals with her hands.

"Raiton: Jibashi!" she shouted as lightning surged through the wires causing the two men to scream out in pain. Tazuna looked on in fear, awe, and curiosity.

"What the hell just happened?" he muttered.

"That was Yakumo's specialty, genjutsu the art of illusion. She made you look like you were there and they fell for the trap." a voice called behind them.

Tazuna turned around in shock seeing Yamato. "Didn't you just die?" he asked him.

"A well timed illusion and replacement does that." Yamato told him as he turned to his team. "Good teamwork you guys'. Naruto you did a good job knocking them off balance and Honoka you followed up perfectly with the attack. Yakumo you did a good job deceiving them and going trapping them."

The three nodded and sighed with a relief. Yamato glared at the bridge builder. "I think we need to have a talk."

It took a few minutes for Yamato tie them up properly as Team 3 recovered and sealed away the kiri ninjas weapons as Yakumo opened up her bingo book.

She read aloud the information from the book.

 _Gozu and Meizu the Demon brothers_

 _Chunin rank missing ninja from Kirigakure_

 _Distinctive weaponry: retractable shuriken chain and gauntlets._

 _Known to use poisons- mostly contact poison on their weaponry and sometimes use gaseous poison._

 _Highly skilled in teamwork maneuvers they are commonly known to band together with stronger ninjas._

Yakumo finished reading as she looked up to Yamato who sighed. He knew all too well that a stronger opponent lay before them.

"Tazuna-san," Yamato's eyes were fixed on their two attackers. "Do you know why I made the Demon brother and you believe I died?" Tazuna shook his head, a bead of sweat made its way down his forehead. "I wanted to see what they were after. Any ninja worth their salt would have noticed such an obvious trap. I made sure my students could even detect obvious traps on day one during our training. It hasn't rained for quite some in a couple of days." he heard the demon brothers' snarled and growled. They soon stopped growling as Yamato glared at them."Is there a reason why these two are after you?"

"I-I'm not sure what you mean?" the bridge builder responded, a voice little too sincere for his character.

"I think you do," Yamato returned flatly. "You hired us for a C-rank. If we had known we were going to be pursued by other ninja, this would be a B-rank mission, and an expensive one at that. You might have a good reason behind holding information, but if this puts my team in danger I will call off the mission."

"Wait,please!" a desperate in the old man's voice stopped Yamato from speaking further. "You're right," he sighed, casting a look at his assassins. "My country is poor, and we couldn't afford a high ranking mission. I didn't think Gato would go this far-"

"Gato," Yamato interrupted as blinked several times. "The billionaire and president of Gato Company?"

"The one and only," Tazuna replied bitterly. "He came into our lands about a year ago, and he has been a terror ever since. He employs gangs and ninjas to curb lands to his will, and he is after me now because of the bridge I'm building to the mainland."

"Wait sir," Honoka ventured cautiously. "Why is building a bridge is such a threat to Gato? Couldn't he have blown up the bridge? Hiring missing nins to take you out seems extreme."

"In a nutshell, Gato control the shipping industry, that's how he got rich in the first place. If our country gained access to the mainland by other means than shipping, it would threaten his hold on our nation. That's why I need to make sure I was protected. Without me the bridge can't be completed, and with such pressures already in place no one else would step up forward to continue the project. It may seem dramatic, but without me my country with shrivel up and die, sucked up be Gato's greed and malice." as a long minute passed as he stared at them. "I know what I did was wrong, but I had no choice, for the sake of my village; for the sake of my family."

Yamato sighed knowing all too well what was going to happen. "My thought for the mission in question should be terminating and returning back to the village." Yamato explained as Tazuna stood quiet in fear as Team 3 looked on with shock.

.X.

 **Hello guys and I am sorry that I didn't update like I did. I just got a new job and it's been kicking my ass lately for several reasons. So please forgive me for not updating and two the weather down south in America has made me mad. For instance I couldn't upload this chapter due to the Wifi downtown being knocked out. Plus the chapter I created was lost and I fall back on the chapter I already thought out before in my chapter. Truthfully, I don't like to spoil what is was, but it was something most people never touched upon in season 1.**

 **That's right not even dreaming of Sunshine and other stories done it already with another arc in mind. So in the future I will have some different content for you all to see on a later date.**

 **So I hope you all read, enjoy, and review my story. I will try to upload this story in the morning to see how this goes.**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Kishimoto does along with Boruto manga that just came out.

.X.

 **Ch. 9 Pressing on**

.X.

Tazuna looked on in fear, staring at Yamato's gaze. "You want to terminate the mission…" he muttered nervously.

Yamato nodded. "Of course, because I already know who the Demon's brother leader is." Yamato explained.

Yakumo looked up at their sensei. "Who is it sensei?" she asked as she managed to administer them a knockout drug for the two kiri shinobi making them fall asleep.

She saw a frown on his face as he narrowed his eyes. "Before I retired from Anbu, there was a name that stood out the most in Kirigakure in the last two decades ago. Just recently, he became a missing nin of Kirigakure around four years ago. Zabuza Momochi, the 'Demon of the Mist' and he is also one of the seven swordsmen. He is a former head captain of Anbu and never failed a mission, a master of assassination. Furthermore, he is a master of the 'silent killing' style and when it's combined with Kirigakure no jutsu it's no laughing matter." Yamato explained seriously

"Someone from the village died fighting him." Honoka muttered in curiosity.

Yamato sternly nodded. "Yes, Kumade Toriichi, a special Jonin tried taking him down, but he died. A simple slice to throat and he was dead."

"What else is this Zabuza guy known for?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato sighed, looking at them all. He was quite hesitant to tell them, but he relented. "Before Zabuza came along Kiri had a unique graduation test. The nickname back then and still called today is called the Bloody Mist. To graduate from their exam, they would need to kill another student in order to pass." Yamato told them as a spread of fear went on their face.

"They killed their classmates?" Honoka muttered in fear.

Yamato nodded. "Not anymore, but until Zabuza Momochi showed one day not even of the Academy. He slaughtered over a 100 kids discontinuing the practice for good. He was only 15 years old when that happened."

"My god…" Tazuna muttered in fear.

"Now you can see why facing him is a problem now. At your current level fighting him would be a death sentence and I can't watch you all the time. From what I know about Wave Country is about the swirling mists that covered the island is quite natural. He would be at home at Wave and he would have a large source of water to work with."

Naruto spoke up. "So we are going to terminate the mission just because Zabuza would show up." Naruto protested. "Who will take him up on his mission? I know for a fact Kiri won't take his mission due to Gato owning a world famous shipping company."

Honoka spoke up. "I don't want to leave Tazuna-san to die because a lack of money. Everyone is depending on him to build a bridge of hope. If we back out now it would be the same situation with Shinko nee-chan's teammate Tenma." Honoka protested.

Yamato's gaze turned to Yakumo know who was silently contemplating now. "What are your thoughts, Yakumo?" Yamato asked him.

Yakumo breathed out for a minute before she spoke. "It's true, they both have valid points', discontinuing the mission would be disastrous to Tazuna-san and the citizens of Wave Country. I believe you can take this guy Yamato-sensei, you do have the advantage of using earth jutsu against his water. If it's just Mist we will have to deal with, Naruto's new futon jutsu can blow away the mist." she confidently told him.

Yamato tried holding back a smile. "I see, so you guys are adamant in continuing?" he asked him.

The three nodded as they gave their answer. "Very well then, we will continue the mission and I will upgrade this mission to a B-rank threat level. I need you to be all combat ready and alert now. Along that line may need to overcome a fear of death." Yamato relayed to him.

"Yes, sir," they replied understanding the order.

Yamato turned towards Tazuna. "We will continue the mission for your sake Tazuna-san. We will give it our all to make sure that you are safe and that your bridge may be finished." Yamato reassured him.

Tazuna sighed in relief as he nodded. "Thank you, you have my gratitude in continuing my mission." he told them with a small smile on his face.

.X.

Yamato guided the group to a clearing as he sent Naruto off to gather food for the evening as Honoka gathered the water. Yakumo was busy setting up perimeter traps for them.

Tazuna looked around in confusion. "We are going to camp in the clearing?" he asked Yamato.

Yamato looked at the man and smirked. "Not quite," he answered as he looked back to the clearing. He quickly made five seals with his hands. "Mokuton: Shichuka no jutsu (Wood release: Four house pillar)!"

As wood sprouted out from the ground before the two as Tazuna was in awe as the next few seconds.

He saw Yamato sat on top of the house made of a wood with a smile. "We will camp out here."

Tazuna looked around the building. "You created a house out of wood?" he muttered as inspecting the building.

Yamato nodded. "It's one of my trump card abilities, I can use when in a pinch. I prefer not showing it off to anyone, but it's quite useful. This house can blend in with the forest and suppress our chakra signatures from enemies." Yamato told him.

He jumped down to the ground level as he guided Tazuna into the building. He saw the interior looked like an inn, but it was surprisingly dark inside. "It's quite bare inside." he noted.

Yamato nodded. "Well, it's better than nothing, and I can use my earth jutsu to create some ceramic for the bathroom. Naruto can use his seals to help light up the place. It would be like home away from home." Yamato told him.

They noticed the door behind the opened as Honoka and Yakumo came back. "The perimeter is set and I managed to place the seals down like you asked Yamato-sensei." she told him.

He nodded. "Very good Yakumo."

Honoka held onto a stick containing holding two buckets of water on each side. "This place is amazing Yamato-sensei, this is the best Inn you made to date. All it needs is a hot spring to help relax in now." Honoka told him

He smiled, patting her head. "Well, it shouldn't be hard to create an artificial one, then with Naruto's help. You do remember he made up a seal to heat up water, right as well keep it a constant temperature." he reminded her.

Honoka eyes opened up in joy. "That's right, he did create that seal and it can also be used to cool things down as well too." she realized.

Yakumo smirked. "That reminds me he has been working on combining that seal with his wind chakra to make makeshift air conditioning unit as well. I wonder if he is done with the idea." Yakumo told her.

The group heard a few knocks coming from the door in a secret code. "Come in, Naruto." Yamato announced.

As the door opened as several Naruto came in through the door, holding several ingredients in hand. Naruto smirked at hearing Yakumo's words. "Of course I finished the seal and it doesn't produce small gusts anymore now." Naruto proudly told them. He gestured towards the pig he caught in the wild. "Tonight I will be cooking pork loin with vegetables. For dessert it will be brownies cooked on an iron skillet."

Honoka smiled. "Brownies…" she muttered with a delightful smile as she licked her lips.

Naruto's clones picked up the buckets of water and proceeded to the kitchen. Naruto made a few more clones to help Yamato spruce up the place for convenience sake. Tazuna and the girls walked upstairs to the room to as they proceed to put their things down. As well unseal some futons, pillows, and quilt as he sat down his pack.

"So this is what your magic can do, huh?" Tazuna muttered.

"Well, you can call it magic since it seems so foreign to you." Honoka understood as she finally finished preparing her bed. She looked out the balcony to see Yamato made a portable hot spring with a canopy outside. As she saw the water steaming now, thanks to Naruto's clone now. She turned to Tazuna. "By the way have you ever seen a shinobi in your home country?"

Tazuna shrugged. "Never in my life have I seen shinobi until now in action. Wave Country in general doesn't have them let alone a standing army. We lived out on sea fishing and transporting goods. As well work for smaller villages on mainland as carpenters for villages. After war times my country in commission has helped restore villages making us quite prosperous. Selling seafood helped make our country quite profitable." Tazuna explained.

Yakumo spoke up now. "So the reason why Gato took over your country is due to the fact it can generate so much money. It can reach several places without overextending himself." She reasoned.

Gato nodded. "At first he took advantage of the Land of Water's infighting to make a killing. I can only assume he used all sorts of tricks to make it far up the ladder. As well study business to ensure he would stay on top. He has hired thugs and shinobi to eliminate anything standing in his way."

Honoka spoke up. "Gato hired missing nins to kill you for what reason? How did he know you were going to hire us?" she asked him.

They saw Yamato come into the room now. "Now that is a good question, how did they know you were going to hire us?" he asked him.

Tazuna shrugged. "I don't know, I made sure to not telegraph anything or give any word about my actions. Hell, they didn't even know the bridge I was making was underway until a few months ago." He noticed.

Yamato nodded as he sat down. "By the way, before you hire us, what were you doing in the first place?" he politely asked him.

Tazuna took out a permit from his bag with the Fire Daimyo's signature and stamp. "I needed to take a trip out to meet your Daimyo for approval building a bridge that connects our land together. As well, I gained additional funds for the bridge overall from him."

Yakumo looked up in shock. "Wait, couldn't you have asked for more from him. You could easily ask him to pay for an A-rank mission?" she curiously asked him.

Tazuna nodded. "True, but you have to remember this is for the bridge and nothing else. Overall, I thought Gato didn't have any ninja under his employment until those two showed up." He carefully explained.

"So today was your wake up call… by the way, why isn't he trying to destroy the bridge?" Yamato asked him.

Tazuna smirked. "It's that my super bridge is being built on the water, I can't simply build a weak one can I. It has to hold up to tidal waves and hurricanes. However, I can surmise he might want the bridge in time."

Honoka looked confused. "He wants the bridge as well?" she asked him.

Tazuna nodded. "So far the sea business is going well for Gato, but what happens if he wants to expand his trade onto land. He can gain more clientele and hold more property like that. He will gain several billion if he plays his cards right. For instance Land of Wind lacks the ability to produce fruits, vegetable, and water."

Yamato frowned. "A monopoly on water and then land, huh. He does seem greedy and I bet he is a cheapskate by heart." Yamato guessed.

Tazuna nodded. "Of course he is, Gato would try to save a Ryo than his own mother. I can only think the missing nin in nature either threaten him or the price was cheaper than the Kirigakure prices. I know for a fact I paid 100, 000 Ryo for you all." Tazuna told them.

Yamato nodded. "True, hiring missing nins may be cheaper, but a bit risky due to their nature. They can demand more money out of you or cut before the job is finished. If a client is daunted by a village's service they can easily push away other clients' from buying them." he reasoned.

They heard a knock from outside the door to see Naruto's clone sitting there. "The hot spring is ready downstairs and it's stocked with towels. Dinner will be ready in an hour." it announced.

Honoka and Yakumo got off their feet as they made their way to the bath. Naruto's clone shuts the door behind them.

Tazuna spoke up. "By the way, what was your reason for continuing the mission?" he asked him.

Yamato sighed for a brief moment. "At one time in my life, I was abandoned to be dead as well. I watched people die before me and I couldn't do a thing about it." Yamato admitted. "Now that I do have some power I might as well help others with it. Taking on Zabuza Momochi will be no small task in nature and I will still have to worry about more enemies showing up. However can you tell me more about your home country and how we are going to get there."

Tazuna nodded. "Sure, but first you need to know my contact will be here by boat at Nine o'clock in the morning. So we will have to wake up at dawn to make it there." He pointed as Yamato nodded.

.X.

Naruto hummed as he looked at his progress in his makeshift kitchen. All the food was being prepared nicely as well cleanly. He had managed to get a bath, without his shadow clones screwing something up. He finally learned now that they had a mind of their own now. He saw the girls come out of the hot spring now wearing a pair of black of yukata with slippers.

The two sat down in a chair as Honoka fiddled around the scroll. Yakumo peered over at her with a curious look. "What are you doing with that scroll Honoka?" she asked her. "You do realize those weapons were no doubt coated with poison, right?"

Honoka nodded as she at down the scroll. "Well, it's the fact their weapon fascinates me in a way." she truthfully admitted.

"You like that type of weapon?" Naruto asked her.

Honoka nodded. "I'm not that skilled to use a sword like you Naruto or dexterous to use a tetsugen. If I used a gauntlet type weapon may be what I need, but they seem bulky in nature. Plus, it would me be impossible to use hand signs." she noted.

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he spoke. "What about a seal based gloves that can harden on impact. As well arm guards that help block attacks like jiji has." Naruto explained.

Yakumo sighed. "There you go talking about seals again, and you still haven't finished those ignition gloves of yours." she reminded him.

Naruto frowned. "Well, it's not easy of trying to make gloves that use fire jutsu. One wrong little slip up can burn me or my house down. Besides that, I think making gloves that resist damage as well harden up isn't too hard. I bet if I can modify resistance the seal and use my samurai sabre principal to make it happen." Naruto reasoned.

Honoka nodded happily. "That sounds right, but I have been experimenting myself with my own unique jutsu to on my spare time." she proudly told them.

The two looked on with curiosity as Honoka formed a ball of light into her hand for a moment. The light around soon wrapped around it. As a hand grabbed her wrist as she stopped the jutsu to see Yamato standing behind her.

"I would advise you not to do that Honoka, I know you are thrilled of creating a new Ninjutsu style. However, using in conjunction with chakra compression is dangerous. The last thing we need is the fact your limb exploding. It also takes too much time to gather the energy and any ninja would dodge the attack with ease." He warned her as she dropped her head.

Naruto turned his head in confusion. "Chakra compression, what is that?" he asked his sensei as Tazuna came into the kitchen.

Yamato sighed. "I am guessing Rin-san didn't tell you because your chakra control is optimal at the moment." he pointed out. "Don't worry about for now, you have to master more chakra control techniques before attempting. Besides that, is a chunin exercise you aren't ready for Naruto.

"So you are saying their chakra control is perfect for this?" he asked as Yamato nodded as Naruto dropped his head in disappointment.

Honoka patted his shoulder. "It's okay Naruto, you will get in time." she reassured him.

Naruto shook his head. "It feels like that time when Shisui tried teaching me that great fireball technique…" he muttered in disappointment.

.X.

Naruto stifled a yawn as he walked down the road looking as well the trees. He was pulsing out his chakra every five minutes to get a feel for the land as he scouted for enemies also. The group smelled the salt in the air and the sound of the ocean.

As Yamato promised, they arrived at the meeting point just before nine. As the group walked to a clearing as they saw a narrow strand of beach, they could only see a few meters off through the thick fog coming off the sea. A man stood on the shore next to a wooden boat, it's bow was half buried in sand. The group made a hasty introduction with the man and they were aboard, they shoved off from the beach and into the sea covered by mist. The short travel across the channel was uneventful and dead quiet.

The group noticed the bridge in the distance as Yamato noticed. "Is that your bridge Tazuna-san?" Yamato asked him quietly as his genins' stared at the huge structure. It was no doubt their first experience being away from home.

"Aye, that's it. That's our village's hopes and dreams." No further conversation was made as the fog felt a bit ominous.

The mist broke as they went and entered into a low tunnel, emerging on the other side to clear skies and open blue water. Their guide docked the boat at a nearby wooden platform, ushering them quickly off the boat and looking around a bit nervous.

"Thank you," Tazuna said solemnly, nodding to the man. His only response was a curt nod as he glanced around again. As he turned on his engine and peeled away from the docks. "As you can see," the old man continued dryly, turning towards the path of the woods, "People are scared to even be seen with me. Can't blame them, though Gato's got the whole village scared."

"That'll change once the bridge you are building is finished." Naruto confidently told them as he grinned confidently earning the Tazuna a small smirk.

Several kilometers of walking as Naruto pulsed his chakra out. He quickly raised his fist up in the air to signal a halt. Yamato appeared beside him now.

"What is it?" He murmured, his eyes scanning the trees where Naruto was looking. Naruto focused for a moment, closing his eyes and then opened them.

"There's somebody in the trees ahead, maybe three hundred meters. No, they are at least three hundred and twenty-five meters. This person tried suppressing their chakra the moment we made it to the clearing. However, I am still detecting a faint chakra signature coming from the ground where he jumped into the trees." Naruto pointed out.

"Good work," he said quietly. "Fall back to protect Tazuna; I'll handle him personally. Naruto nodded as they the group formed a flying V formation. A formation that supported a protection for three guarding one person. The Manji formation needed four men to cover all directions. "Inform me if he moves."

The party proceeded forward three hundred meters, before Naruto spoke again. "He's coming this way, though I don't think he is heading for us. He should appear ten meters ahead of us." as on cue, a form blurred on their path, blocking their advance.

The man that appeared before them was undoubtedly tall. He wore no shirt, only pinstriped trousers held up by suspenders. Black and white leg and arm warmers that adorned each limb, and bandages that covered most of his face. Yamato stood calmly as he looked at the man as he spread his hands to his sides.

"Zabuza Momochi, eh?" Yamato announced. "You were exiled from Mist and then placed into a bingo book for the failed coup d'etat against the Yondaime Hokage."

Zabuza looked him over for a moment. "Never heard of you before, you aren't in my bingo book, but it's obvious that your stance shows that you must be a former Anbu member." he pointed out as he looked over to three genins. "So the boy is a sensor and a kenjutsu user. The girl wields a tetsugen inside her right kimono sleeve, she hides it really well. The last one is the weirdest out the bunch, she no doubt uses taijutsu more than anything."

"Something wrong," Yamato asked him.

"I didn't get your name Jonin of the leaf. Otherwise, if things get messy I won't have anything to put your name on your tombstone." he told him.

"Yamato," the wood user simply answered.

"Yamato, huh… since the boy pointed me out earlier, I didn't even attempt an ambush. Any chance you will make this easy and just hand over the old man."

"I am afraid not, we don't hand over clients so easily." Yamato announced as he cracked his knuckles. "You will be fighting me and don't think it will be easy as Kumade Toriichi."

Zabuza chuckled. "You mean that special Jonin… slitting his throat was easy. However, I wonder what type of fight would you put up, Yamato." his words sent a shiver down the genins' backs with ease.

Zabuza vanished before their eyes and reappeared several meters back from his starting point, standing point on the lake and channeled his chakra. In seconds a thick mist rose from their surroundings, coating the air even thicker than the fog on the sea. Three genin could barely see an outline of their teacher.

As sweat poured down the face of the genins and Tazuna. The air was thick of killing intent unlike, anything they felt from their sensei. They could easily tell this man was on another level compared to the demon brothers they faced yesterday. He had initiated the assault by himself without even hesitating.

"He can appear anywhere, and in complete silence. Don't let your guard down." Yamato's voice slightly muffled from the mist, as they stiffen up as they looked around.

"5," Naruto shouted.

Honoka quickly whipped to her right with a kunai in hand. As she turned to see the assassin's silhouette holding his heavy blade ready to strike all four of them down. Honoka quickly sliced his hips to his shoulder with one smooth movement. Yamato turned in a heartbeat as he quickly noticed it turned into a puddle of water.

"Water clone," Yamato muttered as he glanced down at Honoka who was breathing harder than she should. "Calm down," he said with a reassuring smile. "I won't let anything happen to any-" A thick metal blade cut through his torso mid-sentence, slicing the Yamato in half preventing him from finishing the sentence. Honoka looked up in shock to see him getting him cut in half or so she thought.

Water splashed onto the ground where Yamato stood. The wood user stood behind. Yamato quickly sliced the Zabuza's neck with ease.

"Pretty good Yamato, but you will need more than a water clone to beat me!" Zabuza shouted as Yamato quickly ducked from the sword swing flying at his head. As Zabuza tried spinning around. Yamato outstretched his hand as a jet water shot at Zabuza knocking him to the ground. He skidded across the muddy ground and rolled to his feet.

"Naruto," Yamato shouted.

"I'm on it," Naruto shouted. He formed several seals. "Futon: Daitoppa!" he shouted as a huge blast of wind shot out from all directions. As the mist cleared from the area around them as Zabuza saw Yamato smirking.

"You thought you had the advantage, eh, Zabuza," he asked him.

Zabuza brandished his sword at him. "Right, but I will still kill you and I might as well deal with the kids as well. They are playing ninja, unlike you and I." Zabuza threatened him.

"Playing ninja… true, they might not be experienced as us, but having a huge kill count doesn't make you a shinobi. Kiri's policy and the way they make shinobi are lackluster in its own right. Slaughtering comrades and friends just show how weak you really are. Relying on the mist to help kill your opponent, but I don't see why people call you one of the seven swordsman." Yamato mocked him.

Zabuza charged at him with his sword as Yamato did the same with his kunai. As sparks flew through the air. They circled each other trying to land a blow, but only to parry each other.

Zabuza swung his blade sideways hoping to cleave the man in two. Yamato jumped over the blade barely dodging as it cut into his vest. He quickly threw his kunai at Zabuza's head who dodged it barely only gaining a small nick on his face. He saw Yamato throwing something else, past his face, but he was distracted by Yamato engaging him in taijutsu.

He quickly swung his sword only to see the Yamato hit his wrist with a palm thrust knocking him off balance. Yamato jumped trying to kick him as Zabuza blocked it with the flat of the blade. Yamato quickly activated his chakra to his left holding him up. He quickly kicked Zabuza in the face using his right leg. The blow to the face caused Zabuza stunned him for a moment.

Yamato jumped off his blade pointing out his hand again. Zabuza noticed the same movement earlier from the water jutsu. He jumped back to avoid as he felt a sharp pain entering his foot. He quickly noticed his foot was now bleeding from metal spikes Yamato threw on the ground. Yamato quickly ran forward going for another attack as Zabuza sheathed his sword. He quickly jumped into the air using his good foot to balance. Yamato felt a huge surge of chakra from Zabuza as he formed hand seals as Yamato quickly noticed the pattern.

Zabuza landed on the water at Yamato, the lead ninja formed a series of hand seals himself, which he Naruto noticed was quite familiar.

"Suiton: Suiryudan (water dragon)!" Zabuza shouted as a giant water dragon was coming towards the group and Yamato.

"Doton: Doryuheki!" as gigantic, earth wall shot up to block the jutsu in question as Zabuza grunted in anger as he watched his dragon, be stopped.

" _Damn, he could water and earth release with ease, huh. How I am suppose to get past his guard if I fight him on land? The blond boy in question can use his Futon jutsu to blow the mist away, but I have to remember his teacher…"_ Zabuza stopped thinking as he focused on his opponents new action.

Yamato quickly formed a bird hand seal. _"Doton: Doryuso (Earth Flow spears)!"_ he several earth hardened mud wall soon broke down and shot out into multiple earth spears as he looked up in shock.

Zabuza quickly made a few seals as a tornado of water sprung up deflecting some of them as he dived into the water.

Yamato frowned. "Damn water…" he muttered as he waited for him to come out. He noticed tendrils of water forming like spinning bullet coming towards him. He quickly jumped away from that as he noticed the water, on the land turning into water clones.

" _So he is using Suiton: Suigadan jutsu (water fang bullet) and then turn them into water clones huh."_ Yamato landed on the ground. He saw them rush towards them with their sword in hand. Yamato used a quick burst of chakra to accelerate his speed burst off with as he sliced the them with ease. He looked up to see Zabuza forming hand seals again. Yamato stared at the man and pulsed his chakra.

"Farewell leaf ninja!" Zabuza shouted. Yamato looked up to see the attack. "Suiton Daibakufu (Great waterfall) as Yamato saw the swirling water forming now.

" _If he gets that off here…"_ Yamato thought as he quickly made a tiger seal. "Suiton: Suigadan no jutsu!"

Zabuza looked up in shock as the attack blinded sided. "It's too late Yamato, you can't stop this!" Zabuza shouted. As a giant flood of water came Yamato's way.

Yamato clapped his hands together, making the snake hand sign. "Doton: Doryu Joheki (Earth style rampart)!" as a huge formed a huge wall blocking the attack. The water divided as he heard the screams from Tazuna and Team 3 trying to avoid the water flowing back in.

"It's over Yamato!" a voice called from behind him. He turned his head, seeing Zabuza swinging his sword cutting him in half as Zabuza smirked. "Got him, finally…"

Zabuza looked at the body to see he finished him as he saw his body turned to stone. "Iwa bunshin (rock clone)…"

As explosion from the remains as the shrapnel hit Zabuza as he screamed out in pain. Yamato came out the rock wall punching him in the throat. As he swiftly brought down his hands knocking his sword out of his hands.

"You let your guard down." Yamato told him.

Zabuza breath heavily as he lay on the ground. He gripped his sword and smirked. "You're really are good, eh, Yamato. So what line of work did you do before you got these kids?" Zabuza asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "Anbu," he answered as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Besides that being infamous in the shinobi world is dangerous itself. My team may still be young and inexperienced, but they will grow in time. We all have to start somewhere, but you on the other hand your career as a shinobi is over. Still, why do you stoop so low to work for a man named Gato? Money, protection, or fun." Yamato asked him.

"The same reason, why you were hired to protect the old man." he answered plainly. Yamato saw Zabuza click his fingers as a hail of senbon rained down at him. Yamato jumped back into the rock face to dodge it.

As a short androgynous-looking ninja stood on a branch, concealed by an Anbu mask with the Hidden Mist's symbol on the forehead. As Zabuza's accomplice vanished in a swirl of leaves, appearing beside the fallen man who lifted the larger man onto one shoulder. Zabuza's accomplice raised a hand Anbu mask ninja raised a hand and made a seal, and another swirl of wind he was now gone.

Yamato popped out of the wall with a frown on his face. "Damn it… I knew something was going to go wrong." he muttered as he looked up at his team. He gave a hand signal to them to regroup on him as he was trying to breathe."Status."

Yakumo spoke. "Tazuna-san is safe, but a little wet. No injuries to report as well." she told him.

Tazuna looked a bit worried. "What happens now, he got away along with his accomplice?" Tazuna asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "For now we will head to your residence and allow me to rest. It will take quite some time for Zabuza to heal up. However, I worry about the fact that there might be more ninja that work for Zabuza. I think it's time for you guys to learn how to walk on water using chakra."

Honoka lowered her head. "How are we supposed to make the first move if we are always." she asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Honoka's right, we will need to strike first to stop him from healing properly." Naruto agreed.

Yamato nodded. "Don't worry about that, I got the tracking part done, without Zabuza and his accomplice knowing what I did." Yamato reassured them leaving them all confused by his statement. He looked over to Tazuna now. "Let's get you home now, I bet someone is worried about you."

Tazuna nodded. "Of course, follow me." Tazuna told them. As Team 3 formed their formation around the man. Yamato looked in the distance.

" _I need to get these three ready for the next fight. If his accomplice knows any medical ninjutsu or techniques he could be up in a timely fashion. I am guessing no more than a month and not less than a week. However, obtaining medical supplies in Wave Country might be hard for them even with Gato's help. Meaning they will scour the land for herbs and natural remedies on hand."_ Yamato thought.

.X.

The group finally made it to Tazuna's residence as they were greeted by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. She noticed Yamato was quite winded unlike his team as well small nicks in his armor.

"It's nice to meet you Tsunami-san, as promised, we brought your father back home. Is it okay for us to have a place a rest for a while." Yamato reassured her.

As she nodded. "There's a guest room upstairs," she notified them. "Do you need anything."

Yamato nodded. "No, we will say anything if we need anything, but first we will need to set up some defensive barriers and sensors." Yamato advised them.

He looked over to his team. "Naruto, I want you in charge of placing security seals along certain points. As well install a barrier around the house for us."

Yamato handed some barrier tags to him as Naruto nodded. "I will get it done, Yamato-sensei."

He looked over to Honoka and Yakumo now. "I want you to scout around the bridge and town for any sign of Gato's thugs. I want you neutralize them before they attempt to do anything as well gain Intel on Gato's base of operations. However, I want you to come back in two hours otherwise we will have to go come get you."

"Yes, sir," the two girls agreed as they all pulled a stopwatch and synced their times together. Honoka and Yakumo disappeared with a blur of wind.

"Are you sure it's wise to send them out alone?" Tazuna asked him.

Yamato nodded. "Of course and I can use my one of my jutsu to keep track of them if something does happen." he reassured him.

Naruto began working out the defences of the house as his clone starting to fix the house. Tsunami looked on with interest in worry. "What is he doing?" she asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "He is checking for structural weakness around your house." Yamato explained to them. "He also used to be a landlord himself, so he helped maintain an apartment complex. So he can easily fix common problems construction problems with ease.. River Country workers taught him a lot about home improvement along the way as well."

"So he can carpentry work as well, I didn't know that." Tazuna muttered.

"He is a full of surprises himself at times. I need to write down the details of our fight with Zabuza for the report the in the future. As well take a rest afterwards from that fight." Yamato told them.

.X.

The patrol around the village went smooth the information gathering was quite slow in nature. During Tazuna's absence Gato has been terrorizing the people, but nothing compared to mysterious fire that burned down the warehouse containing food. Food had gone up in price as they were lucky they had the sense to bring more than a month's supply of food for their mission.

Naruto took the afternoon making repairs to the house in nature. He managed to set up a small elaborate sensing barrier that connected to his security seals and the barrier tags to keep people out. As the group had dinner was a quiet affair in general. Naruto was given the first watch out of the group due to his stamina and energy. Honoka took the mid-watch and Yakumo took the last one so Yamato could recover his chakra faster.

As morning rise, there were no doubt several questions on the genins minds about the course of action they should take. Why Zabuza a master of stealth confronted them in frontal attack, rather than an assassination attempt.

As they called a meeting after breakfast as all four of them were crowded around the table with Tazuna. Tsunami was in the kitchen washing dinners, as the other person that lived in the house hasn't introduced their self yet.

"Alright Team 3," Yamato started. "Bad news first, Zabuza is alive and we know he has an accomplice now. We don't know how many there are, but I am assuming the Demon brother's weren't the only ones working with Zabuza. However Zabuza is heavily wounded from my fight and it will take about a week to heal if he has skilled hands working on him."

Tazuna spoke up now. "What is the good news then?" he asked.

"The good news is the fact no one has the strength to take us during this time. We can help guard you and ensure that Gato's men don't intimidate your workers and their families." Yamato gave an example. "However, I will need to get their training done to ensure they don't get caught in the water swimming with a kiri ninja."

"What about dealing with Gato?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato nodded. "I thought about it for a moment, but it's mainly up to Tazuna-san on what we do next. By trying to get rid of Gato we will risk not having a full guard detail." he advised them.

Tazuna nodded. "I think defense is overall important with the problem taking out Gato would cause legal disputes, fights, and a huge power vacuum for anyone to come over. Besides that the Land of Water in general has dealt with him." He reasoned.

Yamato nodded. "True, we need to focus on defense, but if we had time. If he becomes more than a problem we will need to take action in the future." Yamato advised him.

Honoka spoke up now. "Why would a master of assassination do battle with you Yamato-sensei, rather than assassinate at another time sensei?" she curiously asked him.

Tazuna nodded. "Yeah, if he wanted to kill me he could have done that near the dock catching us off guard." he added.

Yamato nodded. "True, his actions are confusing at first, but when you think about it. He is selling himself a resource that Gato would eventually need down the line. Zabuza working for Gato gives him a cover and steady flow of cash to attempt a second assassination attempt on the Mizukage."

"Is the Mizukage really that bad?" Naruto asked him.

"Of course Naruto, he is worse than Gato by milestones and he has purged bloodlines, instituted ruthless policies, and he has the most missing nins come out of his country in the past 20 years. Gato may look like a saint in front of him compared to the Yondaime Mizukage. That is why so many are rising up to defy him and kill him. Zabuza on the other hand doesn't seem like he is even working with the rebels in Mist at all. It seems like he has his own way of doing things."

Honoka spoke up. "If he becomes Mizukage by killing him, wouldn't it put Gato in a better position in the country." she asked him.

"Not quite, by killing Gato he could use, the local businesses' to pick up Gato's business. By doing that it will help increase their economy and they will try to reach out to Wave Country for more revenue."

Tazuna nodded. "Who does business or controls our island will gain more income." he pointed out.

Yamato nodded. "If the bridge in question is finally built seafood prices would go lower, making it more affordable. As well increase our trading with other countries like Tea, Sea Country, and the Land of Water. Another problem might arise is Kumo gets really interested in taking Wave Country to cement their power, trade, and influence. So far Gato has done, you a solid by keeping information from leaking out. If Kumo knew of a bridge being built they would demolish it." He reasoned.

"Would Kumogakure do such a thing?" Honoka asked them.

Yamato sighed and frowned. "Yes, they have done terrible things like the recent peace treaty was a kidnapping mission on Hinata Hyuga. They even tried grabbing Naruto's mother in the past due to her special chakra. Overall Kumogakure has been doing a campaign to try and take people's secret ninjutsu from clans. It's not a stretch they would try to take the island for their own gain. Running a full military production through peace times must be hard." Yamato told them.

"It doesn't matter what you do," a sour voice interjected as the group turned to see a kid coming down stairs. They saw Tazuna's grandson who looked about eight years old with oversized bucket hat on his head.

"Oh Inari!" Tazuna called. "There you are. Come and say hello to these people. They are the ones that protected their grandpa."

"Gato is too strong. You're going to die!" Inari said, ignoring the situation.

Naruto shrugged. "It looks like he is one of those types, huh." he muttered.

"How would you know if he is strong, just hiring people to do the fighting for him. There is no real strength behind him." Yakumo pointed out.

"Well, we don't have time to talk to people who don't believe that situation will get better. Now I will explain what we are going to do today." Yamato explained to them.

"Didn't you hear me?" the boy shouted. "Gato's too strong."

"Then obviously we will need to get stronger than," Naruto shouted back. "Giving up isn't how I was taught, nor it's the right thing to do. Your grandfather is placing his hopes on a bridge to save you all. We didn't terminate the mission because we think we didn't have a shot at taking down Gato."

"What do think you are? A hero, there is no such thing as heroes." they could sense a lot of scorn coming from the kid. "If you don't want to die, you should leave." He turned to go back upstairs.

Honoka calmly spoke up. "If we leave, then it will be that your grandfather that dies."

He froze a stricken look back at them, then bolted upstairs and slammed the door behind him.

"Sorry about that," Tazuna apologized, lowering his head in shame. "Gato's oppression in Wave Country has resulted in many terrible things. It must be hard on a lot of people, included Inari."

Yamato's knew how Naruto grew up using Shisui's point of view and Itachi's helpful insight. He wasn't the one that stopped dreaming or giving up. He still believed in things like ghosts at times and doing something more noble to make his first Shisui proud. It was obvious that mission to him was a bit more personal now.

Yakumo shared the same view in Naruto, but she quickly realized you had to work hard to get somewhere. As well have friends that will help you along.

Honoka's desire to help people stems from her cousins' helplessness of saving a teammate. All three of them possessed a strong resolve.

"Right," Yamato shifted, getting their attention. "Since I know for a fact you have mastered tree climbing. We will practice the water walking exercise now given the location next to the house is the sea."

"I have no doubt that Honoka and Yakumo will get this exercise a bit easier than Naruto."

Naruto groaned as the girls giggled. "Naruto doesn't seem to do well with the spiritual arts for some reason Yamato-sensei?" Yakumo reminded him.

He nodded. "I know that and that is why I make meditate more than you guys, but overall he excels in arts that uses the body more like fuinjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and kenjutsu. Once one of you get the exercise, I will take my leave to the bridge with Tazuna." he explained. "Overall you should get accustomed to walking on water, while fighting just in case."

The three nodded as Yamato turned to Tazuna. "What time do we need to leave to make it to the bridge, Tazuna-san?"

"As early as I can," Tazuna replied. "A lot of men get there before me, since these old bones don't like the morning like they use to. They know what to do in any case. I'm more like an overseer, the manager of the project."

Yamato nodded. "Very well then, Naruto I would want you to leave some shadow clones at the house and one with me just in case." he advised as the blonde nodded. "Now let's get started with your training. I would advise you to change into your swimsuits for this."

"Yes, sir," they all agreed.

It took a good ten minutes to get ready as Naruto was the first out wearing black swim trunks with black flames on the bottom of it. Yakumo and Honoka came out wearing their perspective swimsuits.

Yakumo wore a light orange bikini with a green trim on it as she blushed. She was not used to wearing one as she red flushed look on her face. Honoka's swimsuit in general... was a bit more revealing because of her generous bust that most likely outshine her classmates. She wore a white sunflower print bikini top with a matching skirt with a yellow trim.

Naruto was blushing as he tried focusing on Yamato as Honoka blushed at Naruto's slight glances.

Yamato sighed. _"Teenagers, and why did Honoka and Yakumo pick a bikini to wear during a mission."_ he thought.

"Before we begin, why did you think wearing a bikini was a right idea for training. You do realize you will need to spar with each other to ensure you master this technique." he told them.

Yakumo spoke up first. "Honoka packed our swimsuits and I usually wear a one piece swimsuit." she told them.

Yamato turned to the hot-pink hair girl to see what her answer was. "Well, I thought that Yakumo needed a bit of self-confidence building. I also thought we might get some time to enjoy the beach as well, once the bridge was finished." she reasoned.

"Fine, it will be your fault if your tops fall off during training." he warned them. He quickly made a ram seal.

"The first step you all need to know is to build up chakra to your feet. Then you have to carefully calibrate the amount of chakra from each foot to maintain your balance."

He turned around and stood on the water in front of his team.

"See there is nothing to it, but skating on the water will be your ultimate the test in the future."

The three excitedly nodded as they did as instructed. As they all fail into the water as Yamato tried to not laugh at them. He burst out laughing as his three students came to the surface blushing in embarrassment.

"Sensei stop it, please…" Yakumo muttered.

As they heard a flash go off in the distance as they turned to see one of Yamato's wood clone holding a camera from the side.

"I had to get this picture of this moment on camera." Yamato told them. "Once we get home I will get the film developed." Yamato told them.

Honoka pouted. "We did so well in the first exercise, what went wrong?" She asked him.

Yamato's clone spoke up. "Quite simple, Honoka you are not calibrating your weight and clothing with each step. Pushing out a steady stream of chakra is more difficult than a constant one. For instance the Great Fireball jutsu can act like a fireball or a continuous stream of fire." he explained.

Naruto pointed out. "So that is why my Mizurappa jutsu takes more chakra than normal, because I can't control the initial output properly." he realized as Yamato nodded.

"Correct Naruto, by learning the two exercises you can master more difficult jutsu and in time. In time if you master your chakra control properly, you can perform jutsu without hand seals or shorten lengthy ones down with ease. For instance the Nidaime Hokage only used one to two seals for the water dragon jutsu, which uses 44 seals." he carefully explained.

Naruto cocked his head as he got onto the docks. "Hey, what about my Samurai sabre technique. That doesn't need hand seals to perform, let alone a sword?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "True, but using chakra through the hands is quite easy. Naruto, you are only creating elongated versions of the sword or encase the sword with chakra. I know for one that the technique itself can change its shape to giant swords or cleavers depending." Yamato explained.

"So what about using the technique without the sword?" Yakumo asked Yamato as it left him a bit confused Yamato.

" _Chakra constructs isn't something that hasn't been done before, but I know Kakashi-senpai knows how to use the Rasengan thanks to his teacher."_

"I believe the Fourth Hokage made a jutsu that was pure chakra, but doing so might take years to do. So let's focus on the here and know first." Yamato told Naruto.

.X.

Meanwhile. in a base in the forest as Zabuza sat in the bed recovering as his accomplice finally finished changing his bandages again.

"Haku, what news do we have on the Demon brothers?" he asked his caretaker for the moment.

Haku spoke up. "It appears that Konoha-shinobi picked them and took them to their jail. Koga and Muramasa should be done with their respective missions by now." Haku reminded him.

As they heard a swift knock come from the roof as they felt two familiar chakra signatures. "Come on in," Zabuza told them.

As the two figures dropped from the ceiling a bit tired from their trip. The two ninja looked at Zabuza with amusement and worry. One with black short hair and brown eyes stepped forward as he wore a slate grey armor with many pockets on it.

"What the hell happened when we were away? Where are Gozu and Meizu?" Koga asked.

"They screwed up in their mission and got beat by some kids pretending to be ninja." Zabuza told him.

As the man with purple hair and blue eyes looked Zabuza over. "What about you, I can see several rocked based shrapnel penetrating your body? If you called us sooner, we could have helped in the situation entirely, sir." He took off his pack and handed Haku his medicine.

"You both were needed elsewhere and besides that, did you two get what I asked for?" Zabuza asked him.

Muramasa nodded. "Of course, but before we talk about that, do you remember Kajika-san, Zabuza-san?" he asked him.

Zabuza nodded. "Of course, he was that spy we never managed to catch years ago. Apparently he was working with Orochimaru in question. He even managed to convince Iwana and Yamame to join him. What of it?"

Muramasa spoke up. "He was recently found in the Land of Fire attacking the Last of the Uchiha clan along with Kakashi the copy-ninja. His team in question managed to die thanks to some sealed poison or subtle mind control. We think Orochimaru was in Sea country recently visiting a base. Lately he has been undermining Gato by sinking his ships and then recover the loot from the bottom of the sea."

Zabuza grunted. "Great that damn snake is getting in the way." Zabuza muttered.

"Don't worry sir, we have a solution to that problem and a possible way to make money without lifting a finger." Muramasa told them.

Haku spoke up. "You do realize we don't work with unknown's Muramasa who ever paying has to have a name." Haku reminded him.

"The Akatsuki in question, the one that Yuzo Jiwa joined before his death is looking for any sign of Orochimaru and strong lead is paid in cash." Muramasa told him.

"The group that Kisame joined with, huh. I don't trust them, they would do anything to gain money to support some unknown cause. I know Iwagakure has been hiring them lately to do jobs over the past decade due to low manpower. Still, how much are they willing to pay for a good lead?" Zabuza asked him.

Muramasa held out a letter to his master. "They are offering five million Ryo for a strong tip about his activities."

Zabuza nodded. "Very good, but what about you Koga? How is the Mist Rebellion going?"

Koga nodded with a grunt. "Not good and not great. So far they have banned under a woman named Mei Terumi who has two kekkei genkai. So far Mangetsu Hozuki is dead now thanks to Yagura and his blade Hiramekarei was passed onto to a kid named Choujuro. Apparently he was Hozuki's apprentice before his death." Koga informed Zabuza. "In a couple of months the rebels in question will win. The people want a revolution and be freed of Yagura's oppression." Koga informed them.

Zabuza frowned. "Damn, they are already gaining ground huh, I have to finish this job quickly. That woman is getting in the way of my plan." Zabuza muttered in disdain.

"Haku, what has Yamato's group been doing lately?"

Haku spoke up. "They have placed several defensive barriers around the bridge builder's house and they set up a miniature sensing barrier that has quite a good five mile radius. So far by the looks of it, they are learning how to walk on water." he announced.

"It makes no difference seeing they want fight on the water to give us the advantage. Fighting on the land is where Yamato excels the most he pulls off Earth style jutsu with ease." He told them.

"So why don't you fight in a place he can't afford to use his earth jutsu to his max efficiency, while keeping the water near us." Muramasa advised.

"That is…" Zabuza asked him.

"Fight him on the bridge they desperately want to build the most. That way it would keep his earth jutsu to a minimal, but you could water jutsu to its maximum effect. The sea tends to create a natural mist allowing us to sneak undetected." he explained.

"Well, there, seems to be a problem with that idea of yours. The blonde one is a wind user and he blows away the mist with ease." Zabuza pointed out.

Koga spoke up. "I see, so divided and conquer them. We will each take on one of them and kill them one by one. Killing a civilian would be too easy afterwards sir," Koga advised.

"As soon as Zabuza-sama is healed we, can go. Otherwise fighting Yamato by ourselves will be dangerous. He is no doubt going to play a defensive game…" Haku stopped for a moment. They heard a bell chime. "Gato's here."

The three ninja looked up to see Gato coming in with his men. Gato flicked his sunglasses. "Some Jonin, the unbeatable ninja just got beat. Limping back home like some pathetic has been." Gato told him.

Zabuza turned his head. "Demon of the Hidden Mist, more like coward of the Hidden Mist."

Haku stood up as Muramasa stopped him. "If you came here to mock him, you can die along with your men." Muramasa warned him. "With that attitude we can easily terminate our contract and tell where these leaf ninjas' where you reside."

Gato's smile turned to a frown. "If you did, your cover would be blown." He replied back.

Koga shrugged. "True, but you do realize anyone in connection to us will go to jail regardless what you say and do. They will most likely keep in jail just to pump you for money." he pointed out.

Gato walked up to them holding out a folder. "I managed to get in contact with some of my sources to get some information on the ninja Tazuna hired. I couldn't gain any information on the Jonin in question was impossible. Apparently the lackluster brothers you sent out earlier were defeated by rookie ninja that have only been a ninja for than a month." Gato mocked them. "If you can't wrap up this job, Zabuza. I will be forced to cut you off."

Gato told him as he flicked the folder at Haku who, caught it with ease. Gato and his men left the building. Haku handed Zabuza the file for him to read.

He lifted his right hand up to look at it. He looked at Yamato's file. "Just as I thought, Yamato was in Anbu and apparently this isn't his real name at all." he noticed.

"So Yamato is our biggest threat due to his mastery of earth jutsu? That doesn't sound hard at all, but what about these kids?" Koga asked him.

Zabuza flipped through another page. "Yakumo Kurama the heiress to the clan that is able to cast illusions that hurt the user…" he read.

Muramasa whistled. "That sounds dangerous, even a simple one can put someone out of commission." he reasoned.

"Honoka Inari looks average on paper, but she uses taijutsu and ninjutsu mostly." Zabuza informed them. "The blonde in question is Naruto Uzumaki the Rookie of the year… hmm."

Haku turned his head. "What is it Zabuza-sama?" he asked him.

"He has already completed a B-rank unlike, his teammates and apparently has experience fighting ninja." He read.

Koga whistled. "Not bad for a kid, but does it have anything to say about their training?" he asked.

Zabuza flipped back to the front to Yakumo and Honoka's. "It says they had some prior training with a woman named Yugao Uzuki. Uzumaki kid has had some training with Hayate Gekko premiere sword user."

Zabuza added on. "Note that Uzumaki Naruto has had training with Uchiha Shisui the teleporter in the past. Noteworthy skill with the Shunshin no jutsu is what he picked up the most."

He closed the folder and then burned it using the candle in the room. "So I'm guessing Haku is going to face the Uzumaki kid?" Muramasa guessed.

Zabuza nodded. "It looks like you have a rival Haku," he pointed out.

"It seems so," Haku told them.

"Then who do I fight?" Koga asked him.

"You will fight the little teen idol and Muramasa himself will fight the Kurama girl since he has sensory capabilities."

"You give me the easy task." Koga muttered.

Muramasa hit him on the shoulder. "Well you do realize I am not fighting a normal genjutsu user right," he reminded him as Koga ignored it.

"When do you want us to move out?" Koga asked him. "I have no doubt we…"

Zabuza interrupted him. "We will move when I am ready because the two of you facing Yamato alone is death. Next time I will cut him down and his tricks won't help him."

.X.

 **Hello again and guys and thanks for the support who reviews last chapter. So I did my best in general to get this chapter out in a timely fashion over the week. So I tried upping the ante in this chapter with a fight between Zabuza and Yamato. I contemplated a bit and realize just having Haku and Zabuza alone is not a good idea for a fight. As well a bit too canon to me. I also put in a real name from a ninja that actually died to Zabuza in the series as well.**

 **Everyone has mostly skimmed over his picture in the series, but I found his name, Kumade. As well making Haku a guy was something was something I contemplated the most. However Haku androgynous look could have been used as a cover to get past guards. As well I managed to cover some real world issues in the chapter. Still I might cover Kumo in general a bit more along with Iwa down the line.**

 **So I hope I did alright in adding some more OC's to the story. Realistically not having only three ninja under you is crazy itself compared to other ninja in the filler arcs in season one.**

 **So I hope you all read, enjoy, and review my story. I will upload this chapter around the evening for you all.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but Kishimoto does and he earning millions on ending the series on a horrible note. The series in general has too many fillers and should have expanded upon it in the first season of Naruto.

.X.

 **Ch. 10**

 **Stalwart Defender**

.X.

It was day three in Wave Country as the sun filtered through Team 3's room as they slept soundly, excluding Yamato.

He stared at the small glass orb that had seals on its surface as it was filled with water. It was a miniature version of the sealing barrier that Konoha used to detect enemies. Naruto was learning the finer points of installing the seal, however, by glance it wasn't detecting anything.

Yamato shifted his body for a moment as he thought to himself. _"Weird, but not unexpected to me though. It's obvious Zabuza is recovering and he has told his men to stay away from us. I can only assume he wants to decrease the use of my use of earth jutsu in battle. I can only assume that he might want to fight on the bridge to prevent me from going all out. Meanwhile, they would have the sea nearby to use for water jutsu."_ Yamato thought as he picked up his notes. He looked over Team 3's stats and skills for a review.

"Overall, Honoka's fire jutsu would put her at a disadvantage in the fight compared to Yakumo and Naruto. She can still use earth jutsu to counter some of their water techniques, but has learned how to use the Earth Wall jutsu, yet. Her chakra can't support the technique, but I know we can use sealing scrolls to bring chunks of earth to the bridge." he muttered as he felt a presence behind the door.

"Do you need anything Inari?"

Yamato noticed the boy's stare through the door as he closed it instantly. As Yamato sighed as the boy antics. He was obviously scared of something. He saw Yakumo wake up as she gave a small yawn. Her hair was frizzled up a bit as she looked around the room. She looked around a bit tired as she saw Yamato sitting down.

"Sorry that I slept in Yamato-sensei…" she muttered. trying to straighten her hair. She focused a small of chakra to her to straighten. It was a low level jutsu that Honoka taught to her that derived from the hair binding jutsu.

Yamato waved it off. "Don't worry about it Yakumo, chakra exhaustion is no small feat to recover from." Yamato waved it off.

Yakumo pouted as she looked at Naruto. "I still can't believe this idiot is still wearing his resistance seals on his body still. I thought you said to take them off when we are not training." she reminded him.

Yamato shrugged. "Well, you can't be slow being a kenjutsu user and besides that I insisted he kept them on because he recovers quickly. From now on you and Honoka will wear your seals as well to help improve your physical conditioning." Yamato told her as he looked over his list of things. "Since you are up now, we can wake these two up now. I need everyone to help gather the fruits and vegetables I grew by power yesterday."

Yakumo nodded. "Sure, it will at least give the townspeople a bit more hope and they won't go hungry." she agreed as she woke up Honoka first. "Wake up sleepy head, it's time to get up."

Honoka moaned as she looked around. "It's morning already…" she complained as Naruto stirred awake.

Naruto yawned as he slowly sat up. "Are we need more training Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked him as he thought to get ready for today.

Yamato nodded. "Not at this time, but you can practice sparring on the water in the evening. We need to go gather the fruits and vegetables so we can deliver them at the market. We need to make our rounds at the bridge protecting Tazuna, so I want you to leave some clones here Naruto for protection for Tsunami and Inari." he explained as Team 3 nodded.

Honoka got up from her bed. "I get to use the bathroom first!" she shouted happily as Yakumo looked up her in surprise.

"No, I get to use the bathroom first today, and remember we are taking turns!" Yakumo shouted as they raced towards the bathroom. Yamato sighed as Naruto yawned.

"Knowing them, it will be up to me to get the fruits and vegetables in the nearby field." Naruto muttered in annoyance. "Besides that they will take up to an hour or more in the bathroom."

Yamato shrugged. "We will do it as a team and I will make them do most of the work if they don't stop fighting over the bathroom."

The two hear a girlish scream erupt throughout the household as Yamato sighed getting up. "I might as well break this before it gets out of hand."

Yamato quickly left the room as Naruto sat back in his bed. "I am lucky I am boy, I don't have to deal with all the drama they go through in life." Naruto muttered trying to gain a few more minutes of sleep.

.X.

Team 3 managed to get their morning routines in place as well eat breakfast. Team 3 made a trip out into the forest together. Naruto left his clones at the house to watch over Tazuna and his family. They made it to a small out to a huge clearing that contained a large patch of vegetables and several fruit trees. Yamato looked over to his team who stood in line waiting for his orders.

"Before we get started, I will explain some things to you. First of all everything I grew here using my power needs to picked. The placed into the crates on cart so we can drop them off at the market." Yamato explained.

The three genin nodded to this as Honoka spoke. "If people see things are getting a bit better people will cheer up." She pointed out.

Yamato nodded. "True, but this donation in question will help put hope in the very workers that help build this bridge. So they don't have to go home starving from a lack of food. They are all volunteering their time and effort to build this bridge. As well, keep the village from starving to death due to a lack of food." Yamato carefully explained to the younger ninja.

Yakumo nodded. Is there anything else we need to collect?"

Yamato nodded. "We will be collecting herbs to give to local doctor as well." he informed them. "Since Gato's blockade of the island they can't buy medicine from the mainland. So be on the lookout for any herb patches as well." Yamato informed him.

Naruto spoke up. "If we are picking all these fruits and vegetables, what are you going to do Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato nodded. "I will be hunting down a blacksmith in town by the name of Sig. He helps makes the metal beam and wires for the bridge. So I will be picking it up for them and make sure it reaches the construction site." Yamato explained.

Team 3 nodded as Yamato nodded. "I will see be back in an hour to see your progress."

He had used the Shunshin no jutsu to disappear before them as Team 3 went straight to work.

.X.

Team 3 managed to almost finish their task as they managed to collect all the fruits and vegetables in the field. They managed to stack everything on a huge wooden cart Yamato made for them.

Yakumo sighed. "We are finally done with gathering all the food for shipping. Thank god you have the Kage Bunshin jutsu at your disposal." Yakumo muttered in relief.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, we are not done yet, Yakumo-chan. We still have to gather herbs for the doctor." he reminded her.

Yamato sighed as she looked around to see Honoka was missing. "By the way where is Honoka?" She asked Naruto.

Naruto pointed back towards the Tazuna's house. She went back inside to check on Tazuna and the rest of the family." Naruto informed her.

Yakumo saw the smoke coming from the house. "It seems like Tsunami-san has started breakfast now and we haven't finished Yamato's task yet." Yakumo pointed out.

Naruto waved it off. "Don't worry about I can easily finish up here by gathering the herbs myself." Naruto offered.

Yakumo looked around for a moment. "Are you sure, I have more knowledge in pulling herbs from the ground than you do." She protested.

Naruto nodded. "Okay then, I will make sure to pull the cart in front of the house and allow Tsunami-san to get first pick before we take it the market." Naruto told her as she dragged the cart towards the house.

Yakumo made her way to the forest with a big basket. As she recounted something in her mind. _"I will need to chamomile to help alleviate stress and lavender to help everyone to relax. I can also find Calendula flowers to help heal wounds a faster."_ she thought.

As she traversed the forest collecting herbs in her basket. As she noticed something was odd in the forest. She was making good progress gathering other ones like Holy Basil as well. Until she came across something she didn't expect at all in the forest.

She saw a young girl wearing a pink kimono with dark swirls. She gave a look over and studied a bit harder. _"At first glance it looks like a girl from afar, but when you get closer it's far from it. I can tell from the firearms they_ _are not flexible like a real girl'. The choker around the neck hides the adam's apple. Furthermore, this person's chest is particularly flat, meaning it's a guy. I can also tell his legs are too spread apart telling he has something down below."_ Yakumo thought.

As the boy in question turned towards her. "I didn't think I would meet anyone else out here." He gave off a deep smile as Yakumo bowed. "I was just gathering herbs and saw you collecting some as well. However, your basket seems quite diverse, unlike mine."

Yakumo peered into his basket was filled with peppermint herbs. "You are collecting peppermint herbs for someone?" Yakumo asked.

The boy nodded. "It's for someone that just got hurt recently and I am tending to them." he told her.

Yakumo held her basket. "I am collecting these herbs for the local doctor in town." She told the boy.

Haku studied the basket. "You seem quite knowledgeable on herbs are you training to become a doctor

Yakumo nodded, as she pointed to her headband. "I am not a full certified doctor, but I had apprenticeship under Kito-sensei for four years learning medical techniques and jutsu. By the way I'm Yakumo of the Kurama clan and it's nice to meet you."

"Haku, and did you become a medic ninja to help heal and protect others." Haku curiously asked.

Yakumo blushed and nodded. "Well of course, but the whole reason on how I become a ninja was thanks to my friend Naruto." she admitted.

"Naruto helped you became a ninja?" Haku asked.

Yakumo nodded. "Along with a person named Shisui Uchiha he was the one that first noticed a certain medical condition prevented me from becoming one. Then one thing lead to another Naruto got his friends and their family involved to help me with my condition. I had a frail body from the very beginning, so I trained hard to help him and the others around him."

"What about Shisui-san?" Haku reminded her.

Yakumo frowned. "He died one day…" she bluntly answered.

Haku turned quiet one day. "I am sorry I shouldn't have asked."

Yakumo waved it off. "It's okay for me, but Naruto thought the world of him when he was younger. Even after his suspicious death, he gave everything he owned to Naruto. Letters and notes of encouragement when others wouldn't help him at first. He has always been there for me and always made sure we have as much fun as possible." Yakumo proudly told Haku. "He really takes to protecting and helping others like Shisui lately as well. My friend Honoka is no different she doesn't have a true mean bone in her body. She goes out her way to help people even she didn't ask them.

Haku gave a gentle smile. "So you are trying to get stronger for them?" Haku asked.

Yakumo shrugged. "True, but I'm weak compared to the other two. I need to become stronger to help them when the time comes and especially Yamato-sensei. However, we are doing our best to help alleviate the problems in Wave Country even if it's a little." Yakumo explained as she looked around. "By the way where do you live Haku? Did you use to live in a Daimyo's place or something? Wearing a kimono like that must have cost you at least 4000 Ryo."

Haku looked down at his clothing. "No, I don't live at Daimyo's court, but someone did give it to me as a present." Haku explained to her.

Yakumo giggled. "Right, someone gives a boy a pink kimono to wear unless they mistake their gender. However, I won't judge you Haku I have seen crazier things before… maybe I should take a picture to commemorate this moment. You are the first cross-dresser I met and maybe I can paint a portrait of you later." Yakumo teased him as she pulled a camera from her pouch.

Haku blushed as she saw Yakumo take a picture of him. "Y-you already knew I was a boy?" he flusteredly asked her.

Yakumo nodded. "Of course, it's really easy to tell a guy from a boy, especially if you're observant enough. However, I did say I had some medical training before I actually became a ninja." Yakumo explained to him.

Haku nodded. "True, but to the discussion at hand." he tried moving the discussion back. "Real, pure strength comes from the will to protect those who you care for. Besides that, you seem really smitten with him from the sounds of it." Haku pointed out.

As their roles were reversed as Yakumo blushed now as he stared at her as shifted a bit. As a demonic hanya looked at him. "You best choose your words carefully again…" she muttered.

Haku stopped and did a double take for a moment. "Okay…" he muttered as the demon left from behind her.

" _I have to remember her genjutsu in question turns illusions real, but I haven't seen it in action. They must be particularly nasty to deal with if you aren't prepared for it. Even a simple one can be problematic, but most genjutsu in question rely on the opponent's vision. Using the Kirigakure no jutsu is a must against her, but her teammate offsets that."_ Haku thought.

"I see, so you managed to collect a good amount of herbs for the doctor." a voice called out to the both of them. Haku turned around and he in shock as he didn't noticed him either.

Yakumo gave a quick wave to him. "Hey sensei, I just finished up and I just met Haku. He is picking up herbs for someone that was wounded recently." Yakumo introduced him.

Yamato nodded as he didn't comment on the boy's clothing. "I see, but breakfast is ready now. I also managed to delivered the needed materials for the bridge." He told her as she nodded.

Yakumo picked up her basket filled with herbs. "Okay, I will head on inside and store these properly then." she told him.

Yamato turned to Haku now. "Do you need help getting home safe?" he asked Haku.

As the boy nodded carrying his own basket as he got ready to leave. "No thank you, I can get home without any problems. Gato's thugs' stick to the streets and certain paths." Haku told him.

Yamato nodded as Haku walked off as he stepped on a patch of seeds. As a few stuck to the wooden sandals as he sighed.

" _Wood Transmission is a success… that boy has the same profile as the Hunter-nin that saved Zabuza the other day. Well, if he leads me to Zabuza we will have to change our battle plans. However, going to his base directly I can expect traps being set up to stop our advance or alert our position."_ Yamato thought.

He made his way back to the house to talk to his team.

.X.

(Later that evening)

As Team 3 sat down in the living room as Naruto was looking over his scrolls. Yakumo was looking over her new painting as it detailed the fight between Zabuza and her sensei. Honoka watched on with interest as Yamato was writing something down something as he looked at his Kiri ninja bingo book.

He looked up at his team as he closed his book. "Okay Team 3, listen up we may need to change our plans instead of playing defensive against Zabuza." he informed them as their attention focused on the man.

As Honoka spoke up first. "We aren't going to be on the defensive?" She asked him.

Yamato nodded. "No, because today Yakumo ran into the mysterious hunter-nin that saved Zabuza."

Yakumo perked up as her teammate's eyes landed on him. "What, you actually met the guy that saved Zabuza?" Naruto spoke up.

Yakumo bit her lip. "I didn't sense any chakra from him, sensei?" She protested.

Yamato nodded. "True, but you all haven't been trained to sense people suppressing their chakra. When they suppress their chakra levels, it tends to have a lower signature than a civilian one. However, with a clever use of using my wood clones I have a general idea where their base is as well the other ninja working with Zabuza." he told them as Team 3 focused on them.

"I managed to find out about the two other ninja in question that work with Zabuza."

"Who are they?" Naruto curiously asked.

Yamato handed out his notes to his young genin team. "Koga the Impaler and Muramasa the psychic ripple," Yamato simply answered.

Yakumo looked at Muramasa. "He is a sensory ninja that was born in innate sensitivity to chakra. He has been known when ambushes come as well find people through the kirigakure jutsu with relative ease." she read off looking up at her sensei. "This guy can be a problem for us if he can tell when we build up chakra."

Yamato nodded. "True, and they planned for him to face you in battle." he pointed out.

Naruto cocked his head. "If he is so good as a sensor, why hasn't he sensed your wood clone?" Naruto curiously asked.

Yamato waved his hand. "Don't worry about that the Wood clone bunshin can draw off a steady and slow stream of chakra from an individual mimicking their chakra." he explained.

Honoka read the other report. "Koga the Impaler is known for his brutal usage of using a halberd in battle as well high pressurized water to slice his opponents." Honoka read it off.

Yamato nodded. "They want him to face you in battle since they know you can use fire jutsu." he told them catching their attention.

Honoka raised her hand up. "What do you mean by that, sensei?" she asked him.

"Before my scroll reached the Hokage, Gato managed to get some basic information on us due, to the fact he wanted to see what teams he could hire for a C-rank." Yamato informed them.

Yakumo looked up in fear. "How much information goes down on those sheets?" She asked him.

"Not enough to give away your abilities, but they know what areas you specialize in. For instance Haku himself is the fastest out the group and he will face down Naruto in battle. However Honoka doesn't have the luxury of choosing her opponent since she uses fire jutsu in battle. However, we don't want her to face Koga, since his weapon overall has reach on her." Yamato informed them.

"Using a sword against a spear would be almost suicide in question." Yakumo pointed out.

Yamato nodded. "True, and the two of them are no doubt Chunin level so they might know how to use water chakra nature with their weapons. So no doubt we might be forced to fight these matchups, but if push comes to shove switch with your opponents." Yamato advised them.

"Yes, sir," they all agreed.

"We will wait for the fight on the bridge in four days, but we will need to tell Tazuna his workers might be attacked. So we can easily convince them to stay home that day." Yamato announced as Naruto saw Inari trying to spy on them. He went outside on the docks as Yamato sighed.

"For now, I want you all to rest up and be prepared for the fight four days from now." Yamato explained as they nodded. He proceeded to head outside as he saw Inari was sitting at the edge of the dock.

"Can you and I have a moment to talk for a bit?" Yamato asked him. The boy looked up at him and said nothing. Yamato sat beside him as he sighed. "I don't know what you have been going through over the past year Gato came to this land. I can only assume someone close to you has died…"

Inari lowered his head a bit more. "Didn't my grandfather tell you?" Inari asked him.

Yamato nodded. "No, but can you tell me why you fear you him Gato so much. Do you not realize ninja in question aren't regular mercenaries in question. For instance the Fourth Hokage in our village took down a 1000 Iwa ninja all by himself."

The boy tried speaking up. "M-my father…" he muttered, trying to not cry.

Yamato nodded. "I see, can you tell a bit more about and his story." Yamato asked him.

"Why he died after he promised to save this country?" Inari angrily told him.

Yamato nodded. "I see so you and Naruto are the same, but he turned out differently for the better."

Inari looked up at him. "He lost someone too?" Inari asked him.

"Of course, but the person in question was Shisui Uchiha the first person that recognized him for being him. As well help teached him the basics ninja exercises. He even helped Yakumo by noticing an anomaly in her brain one day. The doctors' managed to catch her special condition before it got out of hand." He informed the younger boy.

"What happened to him?" Inari curiously asked him.

Yamato frowned. "They say he committed suicide, but Shisui in question never had mental problems. Before the Uchiha clan in question was massacred, they believed his friend Itachi Uchiha killed him. However, Naruto doesn't believe that Itachi didn't do it. So he pressed on never knowing what happened, while staying true to Shisui's personal wishes."

"Personal wishes?" Inari asked.

"He didn't want Naruto to become a machine that only kills. He wanted him to find a peaceful way of doing things if possible. As well protect the people in your life and make it a better place." Yamato told him.

"Why would he help Naruto for no reason?"

Yamato shrugged. "It was because they were both orphans and they never knew who their parents' were." Yamato answered as Inari looked up a bit shocked. "I can only assume you never met your real father. However, you still have your mother, unlike Naruto. He only has a picture of his mother that resides back home. By being negative of a situation you never solve your problems', but you loathe the inability to help him. What you really hate is the fact no one in this country never went to help save your father at all from being killed."

Tears poured down his face as he tried to stay silent as Yamato spoke again. "When you realized we were going to protect your grandfather without strings attached. You grew jealous and angry that we from another land would stand up against Gato. You also envy the fact that my team can push, despite the fears. Am I right?"

Inari nodded. "Y-yes," he admitted. "No one wanted to help save him after he did so much for the country."

"So I ask you again, who was your father?" Yamato asked him.

Team 3 listened on from afar as Inari spoke. "My stepfather was named Kaiza." Inari explained as Naruto and the other realized Tazuna and Tsunami's saddened expression.

Naruto turned to them with a sadden look on his face. "Is what Inari saying is the truth?" Naruto asked him.

Tazuna sighed and nodded. "Yes," he solemnly answered. As the team listened on with interest to the tragic story.

.X.

Four days passed as Team 3 began to move out. Yamato looked over to Tazuna a bit worried. "Are you sure you want to come to bridge Tazuna? We know Zabuza has set up a trap for us." Yamato explained.

Tazuna nodded. "Of course, I will want to see how this ends, but if he notices I don't show up along with my workers', he will know something is off." he reasoned as Yamato nodded.

"Very well, but we will need to worry about Inari and Tsunami's safety as well. I may need to keep one of my students on standby here just in case." Yamato told them.

"But what happens if all four of them show up on the battlefield?" Honoka asked.

Yamato held up two of his fingers. "True, but I made sure we are prepared for this outcome. Naruto can you hand me the scroll you prepared for me beforehand." Yamato explained as Naruto handed him the scroll. "To ensure we have somewhat an advantage, while fighting on the bridge. Naruto has sealed away his jutsu Futon: Daitoppa to help blow away the wind."

Yakumo looked at him with a bit of a surprise. "You can actually seal jutsu away in a scroll in a scroll?" she asked him.

Naruto smirked. "Of course, it's not that difficult to do, but it does require a bit of timing for some jutsu's like free flow jutsu like Futon: Daitoppa. However, for jutsu like my shadow clone, its really easy to do. I can also seal them away into the scroll along with the huge blocks of mudwall from the last battle. That way Yamato-sensei and Honoka can use their earth jutsu in battle." Naruto informed them.

Yamato nodded. "We will let the shadow clone take Naruto's place in the formation to throw them off. Once it's dispelled, he will come straight to the bridge himself just in case we find ourselves surrounded." Yamato carefully explained.

Naruto nodded. "Okay, but are you sure it's okay with me not being there?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato nodded. "We don't know what type of plan Gato would do in this situation? However, leaving Tsunami and Inari unprotected is not the safest thing to do. By employing a shadow clone they will be fooled into thinking that you left the house with us." he reasoned.

Tazuna turn towards the two. "Be safe you Tsunami and Inari, hopefully we can settle this problem by today, hopefully." Tazuna told them as Tsunami nodded.

"You too,"she told them as Yamato's group made it their way out the door as Naruto's clone made it out the door. Naruto fiddled with Aka no Shi as he sat down calmly in the living room. "If anyone comes I will answer the door for you guys." Naruto explained to them. "If push comes to shove, I will have to leave and head to the bridge."

They nodded as they went about their business as Naruto looked at the small orb containing the sensor. He watched as his teammates aura flicker through the orb.

.X.

It took a good thirty minutes for the group to make it the bridge as Yamato instantly frowned upon seeing the scene. They saw several men on the ground in pain. Tazuna looked around in shock.

"What the hell happened here?" Tazuna shouted.

Naruto's clone looked around as it sensed out as Yakumo quickly checked over their bodies. "I sense an incoming chakra source." Naruto's clone told them.

Yakumo gave a quick look over the men on the ground. "No one is dead, but they are in pain though." she told them as she got back into the formation. As the mist started rolling into the area around the bridge.

"So you brought friends this time to join us for round 2, huh." Yamato asked him.

Yamato heard a chuckle. "Of course, and it seems like you knew we were coming, huh. Still, I am surprised you didn't get rid of the brats with you. They seem like dead weight to you…"

"They aren't dead weight compared to your men. You not an idiot to leave a potential threat standing nearby so you brought them here to help deal with them. Yamato pointed out.

"You trained them quite well not to react under hostile situation, but it ends now." Zabuza told him.

Seven water clones of Zabuza appeared around them. Naruto's clone flicked his sword as he moved about with a burst of speed. He swiftly dispatched the clones as he sheathed his sword. "Too easy," Naruto clone told them as he turned down the bridge. "They are right in front of us Yamato-sensei."

"So I see the kid knew they were water clones, huh. It seems you finally get to test your speed against him Haku." Zabuza told them.

Koga and Muramasa walked beside them. Koga was holding a golden halberd with brown leather straps covering the wood. Muramasa looked on with a cautiously. "Last time I checked Genin's don't have a huge chakra source like that. Be careful since Haku this boy is most likely a ninjutsu skill might be well developed." Muramasa warned the masked boy.

Haku nodded. "Okay," acknowledged.

Koga looked around for a moment. "Despite the bridge being incomplete throwing high level ninjutsu on the bridge will be difficult. With my spear and your sword sticking together would be a bad idea." Koga told Zabuza.

Zabuza nodded. "True, so let's test the waters shall we. Haku start this off and be sure to stop the blonde from using wind jutsu." Zabuza told Haku.

Haku sped off towards them as Naruto's clone looked at Yamato. The man nodded as he charged forward drawing, his sword. As the clashed as sword weapons together as Haku expertly kept the sword from sliding across. As the clashed several times as Haku tried spinning around to get a strike. Naruto sidestepped his way blocking his advance as they clashed again.

"You do realize we want only the bridge builder? If you step out out the way you don't have to get hurt." Haku told them.

"No can do," Naruto told the masked boy.

"You are making a mistake you won't be able to keep up with my speed. I gained two key advantages," Haku explained.

"I am guessing one advantage is that the surrounding water around us." Naruto guessed.

"Correct, and the second is I blocked one of your hands. Therefore, you have no way to use hand seals." he explained as he held out one hand. Naruto looked in shock. Haku began forming them.

" _I forgot Mist Ninja, know this trick as well."_ Naruto thought as he quickly held out his hand. He began forming hand seals.

"Sensatsu: Suisho (Thousand flying water needles of death)!" Haku shouted as he stomped his foot on the water. As the water rose into the air forming needles around the two.

"Suiton:Mizurappa!" Naruto shouted as burst of water shot out from his mouth. Haku tried jumping back to avoid, but he was slammed back the water. Naruto quickly saw the needles coming down on him. He smiled at Haku catching him off guard. As the needles of water slammed together, making a small explosion water. Naruto wasn't there at all as Muramasa panicked.

Haku looked around in panic he, disappeared. "He's gone…"

"He is still here, I can feel it!" Muramasa shouted.

Naruto appeared behind Haku. He quickly slammed his foot into his back, knocking down to the ground. As Haku quickly sprung up to his feet to defend. As he felt coming behind as he turned to see a clone of Naruto. He quickly threw his senbon into it dispelling. A huge gust of wind knocked him off his feet. Haku landed in front of them as he struggled to get up.

"Kaze Bunshin…" Koga muttered. "It seems like this kid isn't for show."

"So he claims that Shisui the teleporter was his first teacher wasn't wrong after all. Back in the sensory division back in Kirigakure they told us to keep an eye out for him for several reasons." Muramasa muttered. "To masterfully used the Shunshin jutsu without leaving a trace will be hard to follow."

"Haku if you keep going like you will end up a victim. Cut him off before he has a chance to use his speed and his wind jutsu."

Haku nodded as a wave of cold air was felt throughout the air as a surge of chakra was felt. Naruto quickly dashed to stop it only to see Haku make a hand seal that was not normal.

As ice sprouted from the ground, stopping him dead in his tracks. He looked around to see the ice forming mirrors of ice around him. "Makyo Hyosho (Demonic Mirroring ice mirrors)!"

Haku shouted as he stepped into the mirror as he quickly noticed Haku's reflection appeared on in all 21 of the mirrors. "Now we will begin and I will show you what true speed is about."

Naruto quickly made a dragon seal again as a hail of senbon rained down on him. As a huge gust of wind blew the needles away.

"A replacement, huh with a Kaze Bunshin. It doesn't stop me from attack from the outside." Haku told him. As a hail of senbon came out from the side of the mirrors. Naruto ran along the side of the bridge as he flipped through some hand seals.

" _Doton: Doryuheki!"_ Naruto thought as he quickly spat out earth. It formed a huge wall of earth blocking the attacks. Naruto pulsed his chakra out around to get a feel for Haku. He felt a surge of chakra overheard. He quickly looked up to see a mirror from above. He ran as a hail of senbon rain down from above.

Yamato and the others noticed the mirror overhead as well. "So the Hyoton style is not limited to one confined area, huh." Yamato muttered as he got on the radio to communicate with real Naruto.

He saw Naruto's clone throw several kunai at the mirrors. He clapped his hands together, creating another gust sending them faster into the mirrors. He quickly made a ram seal as a series of explosions went off the bridge as Tazuna screamed.

"What the hell is he thinking!" he shouted.

"He wants to test how durable the mirrors are." Yakumo pointed out as the smoke cleared to show the mirrors' had a few cracks in them. As the mirrors' gleamed for a moment as the damage repaired itself with ease.

As the clone reached down into his pouch quickly as it ran towards the mirrors this time. Haku appeared in front of him. "You do realize explosive tags don't work well on these mirrors?" Haku told him as he threw another volley of senbon.

Naruto jumped up high into the sky spinning as he barely dodged them. He let loose a volley of kunai with tags on the end of it. He quickly threw out kunai at the others as they deflected off each other landing inside the circle and the mirrors.

"Release!" he shouted. He was cut off by senbon hitting him in the torso as an explosion of light went off from the center blinding everyone.

Muramasa frowned. "Kage Bunshin…" he muttered. "He wasn't even here to begin with at all."

Zabuza glared at Yamato. "So the kid could do Kage Bunshin's damn… that is not something you see every day. Still, I am guessing he is keeping the boy on standby just incase something did go wrong." Haku explained as he noticed Haku dispelling his mirrors. "Haku go find this boy and prevent him from coming here."

Haku nodded. "Yes, Zabuza-sama," he agreed as he disappeared into a swirl of leaves. Zabuza turned his attention to the rest of Yamato's and his team.

"Not scared for your students life, eh, Yamato?" he asked him.

Yamato smirked. "Well, considering Haku wasted a lot of chakra on using those mirrors of his on a Kage Bunshin was a mistake." Yamato explained. "However, you didn't take this into account when you read our basic information. Naruto can seal jutsu inside his scrolls to save on chakra meaning he will be fresh for the upcoming fight against him. As well, this…"

Yamato tossed his scroll into the sky. He released the contents of the scroll as a huge burst of wind blew away the mist. Small chunks of earth soon followed as they landed heavily on the bridge."

Koga brandished his spear. "Well, shit, they evened the playing field."

Zabuza heaved his sword over his shoulders. "It seems so, however, those two are rookies compared to you two. Quickly finished this up and help me deal with Yamato."

Koga shrugged, looking at Honoka as Muramasa looked at Yakumo. "Yes, sir," they shouted as they charged at their opponents respectively.

Honoka quickly made a bird hand seal. "Doton: Doryuso!" she shouted. As the harden mud spears shot out of the nearby earth wall at the two mist ninja. Muramasa easily dodged at as Koga twirled his spear releasing high pressurised water from it destroying the earth spears. He saw Honoka running up to him with kunai in hand as he quickly deflected her attack to the side as it twirled it to the side. He knocked her over only to see her disappear into the bridge with ease.

Yakumo meanwhile clashed with Muramasa as he clashed blades with her. He jumped back as he noticed something was wrong. He felt wire trap around his body as Yakumo appeared behind him with kunai in hand.

"Got you…"

Muramasa smirked as she looked at him with shock. "Not quite…" he told her as he turned to water. She turned around to see the man going for a kick. She saw a hand grab his foot before kicking him.

"Koga, get this girl off me now!" Muramasa shouted.

Muramasa just shrugged. He swung his spear as high pressurized water shot out from it. Catching them off guard as Honoka quickly grabbed Yakumo's legs, pulling her under. As she let go of Muramasa's leg as the man jumped up barely avoiding the attack. He landed back on his feet. He looked angrily at his partner.

"What the hell are you thinking?!"

Koga just shrugged. "It was perfect timing to disable them all, however you got in the way." he annoyingly told him.

Zabuza stepped forward. "Focus Muramasa and Koga, they aren't going to fight alone when they are together." he ordered them.

Honoka and Yakumo appeared back in front of Yamato. Honoka threw a pair of shuriken at the two as he she quickly made a ram seal.

Muramasa noticed the chakra small amount of chakra coming from them. "Their rigged!" he shouted. Yakumo smirked performing a few seals.

"Gen'ei Taju Shuriken…" she muttered as the shuriken multiplied five times their numbers.

As Muramasa quickly made a few hand signs. "Suiton: Suijinheki (water wall)!" he shouted as a water wall formed to block the attack. As an explosion went off as they saw Koga running through the wall with fury on his face.

"Damn brats!" he pulled back on the wire as he quickly noticed the incoming shuriken. He jumped high to avoid as he made a few hand seals. "Suiton: Suidan no jutsu) he sprayed high pressurized water at them as they split up. As Honoka charged in to fight him. He stabbed forward aiming for her stomach.

She slammed her left palm into the side of the blade as she plam thrust the shaft of the blade. She quickly kicked shifted her body under his. She flipped him on his back as she noticed he turned into water before her.

"Gotcha you damn brat!" he shouted as he appeared behind her. "Hyoro no jutsu (ice prison)!"

As the water on the ground starting forming around her as she looked in shock. The technique finished as he smirked.

"You fool quit rushing up ahead, you're, in a genjutsu!" Muramasa shouted to no avail as his partner was attacking an imaginary person.

"The idiot didn't realize she cast two genjutsu back to back only naming only one jutsu." he muttered. He saw Honoka performing a series of hand seals.

" _It's obvious if I try to help this idiot again they will use a series of combination techniques to get us both. The plan was to use the mist to neutralize the genjutsu and I go in for the kill. However, in terms of battling actual genjutsu users we are still inexperienced by milestones. I can easily count the number of times I fought a genjutsu user on one hand. So I have to use a technique to break them up._

He formed several seals himself. "Suiton: Rekku Suigeki! (Cold Sky Water attack). As he shot a huge amount of water that cover most the bridge as it forced them towards the earth wall the clone made earlier. Muramasa ran up to comrade and slapped him silly. "You idiot get it together, they are making you look like a fool!"

Koga looked around for a moment as he noticed the two girls were gone. "Damn it!" he shouted. That's it as he slammed his hands together forming a few seals as he clapped to finish it. "Suiton: Suidanha (water severing wave)!" As he spat out a high pressure water cutting through the wall with ease. As the girls screamed in panic after realizing the wall shattered.

"We have to get off the bridge!" Yakumo shouted as Honoka nodded. As they jumped off the side of the bridge. Koga smirked.

"Idiots, fighting on water isn't our game." he smirked.

Muramasa placed a hand on his shoulder. "You need to stop rushing ahead, they didn't jump into the water Koga. They are more likely sticking to the bridge underneath. With the girl's ability to move through concrete on the bridge, she can easily switch to top to bottom on the bridge." Koga warned

"Tch, I finally get a good fight for once and you tell me to play it cautious. Zabuza-san, we might as well use Kirigakure no jutsu now." he told them.

"Who says I will let you do that?" Yamato interrupted them as the three turned to them.

Koga shrugged. "We can easily overpower you." he confidently stated.

"We have another chakra source coming in from the end of the bridge!" Muramasa shouted. "It's huge and it's at least double the size of the kid's clone."

"So Haku couldn't intercept him, huh." Zabuza muttered.

"He is coming this way as well, but at a slower pace." Muramasa told them.

As they noticed Haku coming this way as Naruto flickering out of his view. He managed to kick him in the side, sending him across the bridge.

"I don't think so Haku, I am not going to sit still and let you use those ice mirrors to trap me." Naruto told him. As the masked boy rolled to his feet.

Zabuza grunted. "Go after the other two," he ordered as they nodded. He looked towards Haku now. "Haku finish the boy off, while I deal with Yamato."

"You're a little late Naruto, did something go wrong." Yamato asked as he engaged in a fighting stance.

"I ran into Gato's men just a short, while that you guys left the house." he told them.

"Gato…" Zabuza muttered.

Naruto saw several ice mirror formed around him as he sighed. "Damn this technique is fast."

He saw a familiar sight that encompassed his clone earlier. "This time I will make sure you can't escape with Kaze bunshin and a replacement." Haku told him.

Naruto shrugged. "Hyoton, huh… isn't that a combination of water and wind?" Naruto guessed.

He saw hails of senbon coming this way pelting him. He was doing his best to dodge them only to get hit in the grunted under the force as he quickly clapped his hands together creating a gust of wind. The needles were blown away with ease as he panted.

"Feeling winded already…" Haku asked Naruto as he shrugged indifferently.

Naruto smirked. "No, but I realize in game of endurance I can win this fight." he told them as Haku continued his barrage of attacks. Yamato engaged in a fight with Zabuza as Tazuna looked in fear and awe. Zabuza quickly swung his twirled his sword around as tornado of water formed around him.

He quickly swung it releasing a dense of water wave at Tazuna forcing him back. The leaf ninja was forced to create an earth wall to help defend him.

"I won't let you pressure me and gain the advantage Yamato, I know for a fact all of your kids will all die today." Zabuza told him. "If you leave to go help those kids of yours, I can easily kill the old man." Zabuza warned him.

Yamato flexed his hand. "Then I should stop holding back then against you then." he told him.

Zabuza glared at him. "Stop holding back…" he wondered.

"I have a kekkei genkei as well Zabuza, I chose not to use it in our first engagement for precautionary measures." Yamato told him.

He sat Zabuza charged towards him with sword in hand. "I don't believe you!" he shouted.

Yamato shot his palm out towards as a wooden beam slammed into his stomach sending him flying. Zabuza rolled across the ground and spun to his feet. He looked up in shock at Yamato.

"Mokuton…"

Yamato nodded as he saw several tree sprout from the earth wall. "You don't stand a ghost of chance against me. Even if I had no eyes to see you at all, I can easily saturate the air with a plant that spreads poisonous pollen. So I will say this to you, touch Tazuna you will die and if you try to help them you will die." Yamato threatened him.

Zabuza sighed. "Damn, so both of our plans are shot to hell, huh." he muttered.

"It seems so." Yamato agreed as the two charged forward attacking each other.

.X.

Meanwhile, underneath the bridge as sparks came from their weapons as they slid on the four slid on the water's surface. Koga brandished his spear as Muramasa stood behind them. Yakumo stood behind Honoka as they performed several hand seals together.

"Katon: Hosenka jutsu!" Honoka shouted as Yakumo threw a hail of shuriken towards into fire covering her movements.

Muramasa quickly made a few seals himself. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" he shouted as a wall of water blocked the attack as steam blocked the vision. He felt the chakra signature coming from behind it. "Incoming chakra signature 12 o'clock!"

They saw a volley of shuriken come at them. As Muramasa quickly twirled his halberd as he channeled water nature chakra through it to deflect them. As he soon felt a tug coming from his weapon as he felt he saw the wires attached to the weapon. He tried tugging his weapon free. He saw Yakumo and Honoka sticking to the bottom of the bridge now.

She was holding one wire in her right hand as she made a ram seal. "Raiton: Jibashi!" she shouted. Lightning trailed down from the wire into the water. Muramasa quickly cut the wire with a kunai and jumped to safety. Koga did the same as they landed on the concrete pillar.

They turned to see the hot pink haired girl blowing a flammable gas on them as they jumped to another pillar trying to avoid it.

"Dive into the water!" Koga shouted.

"Are you nuts she can use lightning jutsu?" Muramasa shouted.

"Trust me, I have an idea!" Koga smirked as they landed on the water. He stabbed his spear into the water as ice formed on it. As he began to freeze part of the bay as Muramasa repelled the shuriken coming down at them. "There, now we don't have to worry about the lightning jutsu hitting us."

Muramasa sighed. "You are such an idiot you do realize one of them has fire jutsu right?" He asked him.

Koga smirked going as he made several water clones. He sent them after the two young girls. "Of course, let's do that combination attack, we need to force them out into open water."

Muramasa smirked as he went through a series of hand seals.

The two girls were forced to fight managed to swiftly dispatch the clones with ease. Yakumo turned her head to see that his technique was finished. "Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu!"

As Koga focused quickly on making it ice as the two girls looked on with fear. "Try dodging this!" Koga shouted as the dragon ripped and roared through the bridge. Shards of ice exploded everywhere, forcing them out from the bridge into open water.

"We need to split them up since they can easily combine their techniques together." Muramasa told him.

Koga nodded. "Sure thing, I will go after the pink haired girl and impale her on my halberd." Koga told him as he charged forward.

Muramasa shook his head. "Don't charge in recklessly you fool! They aren't going to engage us in Taijutsu unless they have to!" Muramasa lectured him.

As they ran underneath the bridge as Muramasa noticed chakra in the air. "Illusion."

Koga looked and noticed nothing. "What's wrong? I don't see anything wrong." he told him.

Muramasa stopped for a moment. "This one is designed to loop us in an area…" he quickly dispels the illusion. As they quickly noticed an incoming fire ball coming straight towards them.

"Shit…" Koga shouted as he jumped to the left onto a pillar as Koga looked at the fireball skeptically. He looked up at Koga with fear on his face.

"Koga stop!" as Muramasa plea went unheard as he dispel the fireball illusion. Honoka came out of the wall, grabbing his arm. She quickly slammed his head against the concrete disorienting as he fell into the water with a thud. She disappeared back into the pillar.

"You know you should worry about yourself now." Yakumo's voice echoed throughout the pillar.

He felt a signature coming from his feet. He saw several explosive tags on the surface of the water. He quickly jumped into the to avoid them, but they stopped burning. He looked up to see Honoka coming out of the nearby pillar kicking him in the head. She used her chakra to send him plummeting into the ocean hard.

She landed on the ocean's surface as she saw Koga burst out the water. Stabbing into her side as she looked angrily at him. He twirled his spear trying to stab as she desperately tries to stop his onslaught of attack to no avail.

"It isn't funny now, when you on defense isn't it and getting cut to shreds!" He shouted in fury. Honoka saw him stab her her ripping her shirt off. It revealed his fishnet shirt that covered, hid her black bra.

Muramasa came out of the water behind her angrily as well. "This ends now little girl!"

Honoka's channeled chakra to her hair as it quickly snared Koga's arms and body and legs. "You lost sight of Yakumo, you know that right?" She asked.

Muramasa looked around for a moment as he focused. As he noticed the vines erupting from the pillar as he screamed in pain as he couldn't move at all. "Ingenmame genjutsu (string bean illusion…" he head Yakumo's voice echo out. "Now you get to see why my clan's techniques are feared. When fantasy becomes reality."

His body was covered in vines as Koga watched helpless at his comrades ascent into the air. As a bean pod opened revealing Yakumo covered in organic juice. She brandished a kunai menacingly.

"Koga, do something!" Muramasa shouted as he quickly noticed Honoka placing both feet on his chest as she pushed away. Steel like hair was grinding into his flesh as he screamed out into pain.

"Let go! We surrender!" Koga shouted.

Honoka didn't listen to his words as she used her chakra to repel his body back. As sickening crunch and blood filled into the air. Koga looked down to see his arms were gone now. He looked up to see Honoka's hair receding back again. His arms fell casually into the ocean as she held onto his halberd.

She quickly twirled and impale it into his stomach as she lifted him up into the sky. He screamed in agony as she threw him off the halberd and into the ocean. She had a frown on her face as Muramasa looked in disbelief.

"We got defeated by a bunch of rookies…" Muramasa admitted as Yakumo nodded as she held her kunai to his throat.

"I don't feel a bit sorry for you, you made people's lives into hell." Yakumo coldly told him. She slit his neck quickly as the she vines let him go and plummeted him into the sea. Yakumo dispels the genjutsu and panted as she fell onto the water.

Honoka turned to Yakumo. "Are you okay?" she asked while she held onto the halberd.

Yakumo nodded. "Whenever I engage my kekkei genkai it leaves me sorely drained and tired. However are you okay?" she asked her friend.

"Did we have to kill them?" Honoka asked them.

Yakumo sighed and nodded. "No, we couldn't they are already hardened killers and butchers. From Yamato-sensei has told me they were part of an elite team that hunted down bloodline users before defecting Kiri. However, if you let up even once with the wrong person you can be killed with ease. Mercy is all good, but for those who can change." Yakumo explained as she looked the floating body parts. She took out a scroll. "Let's be sure to seal them away so the sharks won't get them."

Honoka nodded as she looked at the bloody sea. She took some of the clean sea water to clean out her hair. "Okay, but what do I do with this halberd?" she asked her.

Yakumo held up her scroll. "We can seal is away silly if you don't want carry it." she told her.

.X.

The fight with Naruto and Haku that went underway was stopped briefly as Haku noticed Zabuza was actually being pressed for once. The new development of kekkei genkai on the scene had ruined Zabuza's plans completely. It was his saving grace that Haku's focus was split between him and Zabuza. He barely resembled a porcupine due to the senbon sticking into him. He was bleeding from several scratch wounds now.

Naruto gave a casual smirk. "Something wrong, you seem a bit distracted now Haku. Now that my sensei is pressing the advantage now he won't last long." Naruto announced as Haku now focused squarely on him. "We both know for a fact that Yamato-sensei has beaten him before and he could do it-" he was caught off from another barrage of senbon as Naruto barely block a few.

Some hit in his back causing him to grunt. "It doesn't change your predicament Naruto-kun. I will win and then I will join Zabuza-sama shortly." he told him.

"That remains to be seen still." Naruto told him as he focused again. _"What type of plan will help me beat. What would he do in this situation?"_ Naruto stopped for a moment to think.

 _(Flashback- Five years)_

 _Naruto stood proudly swinging his wooden sword that Itachi gave him to train with. Itachi was watching the sunset as crows landed beside them. It was only a week after Shisui's death and it was a rather sore subject for them to talk about. Still, he was feeling a bit better now._

 _Naruto stopped swinging his sword for a moment. As Itachi noticed he stopped. "Something wrong Naruto-kun?"_

" _I have been thinking quite a while, but what happens if I fight an opponent too strong or fast for me to keep up." he asked him._

 _Itachi turned his head around as he wondered something. "What brought this question on?" he asked him._

 _Naruto quickly answered the man. "If I have to protect someone I can't die on the spot and I know you must have fought older opponents by now?" Naruto reasoned._

 _Itachi nodded. "So you still want to protect the people of Konoha, eh for his sake." Itachi told him._

 _Naruto nodded. "Of course and Yakumo is trying to become a ninja too, I would help her too." Naruto admitted._

" _Even Sasuke if things weren't going in his favor?" Itachi asked him._

 _Naruto nodded. "Of course, he would be my comrade as well, however, I don't think he sees me as that."_

 _Itachi gave a small chuckle. "True, he always keeps asking me to train you so he can beat you in class. Sasuke is a bit too prideful in our clan techniques, however, someone like you can excel in the most unorthodox techniques."_

 _Naruto cocked his head. "Then why aren't you training him in your spare time?" Naruto curiously asked him._

" _Personally, as a big brother, I don't want him stepping foot on the battlefield. He will use his talent to alienate his classmates… something I didn't recognize until later in my life. However you, on the other hand might not have the choice to shy away from fights. Everyone in Konoha fears you might be some demon to them. However, they are wrong about you Naruto, I can see the obvious hate coming from you. It was pouring out every time you watch the villagers mistreat you. As well, when parents tend to their own children… you grow envious of them. Shisui noticed that quite quickly when you traveled around the village. Without a little guidance in your life you would become desperate for attention." Itachi pointed out._

 _Naruto dropped his head. "However you have found people that accept you for being you. It may be difficult to change their minds, but a few people can change their way of thinking."_

 _Naruto smiled and nodded. "Thank you," Naruto told him._

 _Itachi nodded. "You're welcome, but back to the question at hand. There is someone always going to be stronger, faster, or more experience than you somewhere. So don't panic when you do meet someone like that. Quickly analyze every little action they under attack along with your surroundings. Then formulate a plan that matches your strength or weaknesses."_

" _That sounds like something you would do." Naruto pointed out._

 _Itachi gave a light chuckle. "True, I have the Sharingan backing me up in a fight, however you have the determination and the Will of Fire backing you up." Itachi realized as he thought about it for a moment. "Overall, you have to realize what situation you are in and work what you got on hand. The trick that might work for you is may be trial and error. However, I would recommend focusing on your defensive capabilities, speed, and evasion before attacking."_

" _Like blocking attacks with Futon: Reppusho?" Naruto asked him._

 _Itachi nodded. "Maybe you can modify your chakra sabre technique to create a pseudo chakra armor. If I was in your shoes I would most likely use genjutsu." Itachi advised as he looked at the sun. "Well it looks like lunch time is almost near, and I have no doubt that my mother will want me over there. Be diligent in your training Naruto nothing it takes time to master techniques let alone create them."_

 _Naruto nodded happily. "Okay and next time we can visit that traditional cafe you love to visit when you have time." he told him._

 _Itachi nodded. "Thank you for the gesture, but going to one is pricy in nature. Our next lesson will be on economics in general." Itachi told him as Naruto groaned._

 _He waved his arms up in protest. "I thought I was supposed to enjoy my childhood dattebayo not worry about adult things, yet." he protested as Itachi laughed a bit._

" _True, but lessons now will go a long way for you. You might be able to help someone out one day or when you become a ninja you will need to manage your own funds." He told him._

(Flashback ended)

Naruto quickly condensed his chakra around his body as focused hard. As it became visible as Haku threw another volley of senbon only to see them bounce off harmlessly.

"What the-" Haku muttered.

"I am the bone of my sword…" Naruto muttered with a smile. "I can use this technique and become like my sword. Hmm… it needs a name still. Chakra no Yoroi (chakra armor)."

Haku looked at the armor that wrapped around his body. As Naruto formed it to look like samurai armor. He now gripped his sword now for battle.

" _So he managed to condense his chakra around his body to make armor. This might be a problem now since senbon can't pierce it. I may need to use more chakra to break through it. However the technique in question must exhaust his chakra reserves quickly. He might drop dead soon if he keeps this up."_ Haku thought.

The masked boy quickly spoke up now. "If you can't keep up with my speed, so you are trying to focus your effort on a good defense. A sensible effort, but a rather foolish tactic overall. The technique itself will exhaust your chakra reserve quickly. You will drop dead before you even can corner me." Haku told him.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe if I was just a regular opponent using this technique, however, just because my kekkei genkai isn't cool as yours. It still has nifty abilities most wish for." Naruto joked.

Haku glared at him. "You have one as well, but I don't notice any significant things about you." Haku pointed out.

"I'm an Uzumaki and by default I have a very strong life force that makes us good ninjutsu users as well Fuinjutsu user's." Naruto explained. He quickly whipped his sword creating another shockwave of chakra to shatter the mirror on ground level. "When I think about your technique in general, you had to quickly cancel it out to not waste chakra. Meaning this technique is draining your chakra faster than mine. So that means in a battle of attrition I win. Still, I don't want to win under those circumstances."

The mirrors' gleamed again as the reformed themselves. "Well, it seems I have to break that chakra armor of yours to ensure that doesn't happen. Hyoton: Paruchizan (partisan)!" as several spears of ice formed over head. As Naruto quickly ran from it as it rained down on him as hail of senbon rained down at the same time.

Naruto pulsed his chakra again as he sent a wave of chakra to sense his opponent. He quickly noticed the senbon pelting him was not at the same speed now. As the timing was off by several different seconds now.

" _It seems my theory is correct the longer he holds this technique it makes him slow. I will need to somehow get him out the mirrors and drop the technique. Like that is going to happen, but if push comes to shove I might have to use that technique I failed to do years ago."_ Naruto thought.

He formed a few hands seals with his hands. As he calmed himself for the attack. "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" as he breathed deeply in. He focused a steady stream of fire that was small. He quickly clapped his hands together, creating a huge gust forward. As the flame engulfed a few mirrors in front of him. He saw the fire trail to another mirror now as he smirked. "Well, it's certainly better than my first attempt."

He felt small burns across his face from the technique. He gritted his teeth and then smiled as he noticed now that Haku was sporting several burn pattern on his clothes.

Haku glared at him. _"This is getting bad I thought he couldn't perform any techniques at all. He must have learned it from Shisui Uchiha years ago. Despite its lack of power he used his Futon jutsu to increase its effectiveness. He managed to destroy three mirrors with that last technique, however I have a chance to end this now. He has to drop his defenses to perform a jutsu. I will wait for the moment and strike."_ Haku thought as he readied himself for another attack.

Naruto looked at the mirror where the trail of fire went to. _"I think he notices when my chakra armor goes down I am quite vulnerable to his attacks. Haku wasn't expecting me to do such a thing. I need to keep him off balance with things and force him to engage me in taijutsu… wait a minute I have an idea now."_

Naruto smiled as he performed a series of hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted as several clones popped into existence as he noticed Haku throwing needles at them. He quickly ran to the outer edge of the mirror. Haku quickly sped out the mirrors to catch him.

As he landed in front of him trying to place a kick to his feet. Hit Naruto's face stunning as he instantly grabbed his leg and applied chakra to his hand. He latched on Haku try pulling his leg away to no avail. Naruto gripped his other on his foot now.

He looked at Haku now with a huge grin. "I knew you were running out of chakra!" he shouted happily. He quickly picked up Haku and slammed him to the ground. He quickly swung him around and threw him out of the mirrors range.

Haku quickly sprung up to his feet as he looked up to see Naruto's knee hitting his face. Stunning as he quickly drew his sword slicing in his midsection, causing him to fall to the ground as Naruto flicked the blood off his sword.

"Another thing I noticed is the fact you suck at using taijutsu Haku. I can assume you have never fought prolonged battles with enemy shinobi as well."

Haku looked up at Naruto as he bled from his chest. "You risked everything on me using taijutsu and you took the blow to grab me." he muttered as blood dripped from his chest.

"I can easily catch you, while you outside your mirrors." Naruto was cut off by a sword slash coming at him. He quickly flickered out of view, dodging the huge sword Zabuza wielded. Yamato pressed on the advantage as several trees grew on the surface of the bridge. The tree limbs held Haku down.

Zabuza landed on the ground and frowned. "Damn trees they are annoying to deal with." he muttered. As he noticed the pollen going into the surrounding air as he tried suppressing his breathing. He quickly noticed several flowers growing on the trees themselves as Zabuza fell to his knee.

"Mokuton: Kajukai Korin (Advent of a world of flowering trees)!" Yamato shouted as quickly noticed Zabuza struggling to breath. "Once you inhale the pollen it's too late and be lucky it's knockout variety than poison."

Yamato told him as Zabuza fell unconscious as the tree limbs pulled him tightly to the tree relieving him of his sword.

"Is it over?" Naruto asked him.

Yamato nodded as he looked down on the bridge to see Gato standing there in front of the army of thugs. "No, we aren't done here?" Yamato told them.

He saw the shortest man in front of the group clapping as he smiled. "I must have to congratulate you all on your win Yamato-san and Team 3." he applauded them.

"I'm guessing you're Gato, huh?" Yamato guessed.

As the man nodded. "You are correct and I see you took care of the has been demon of the Mist. You effectively beat all four of them, but you all seem very tired with your fight without Zabuza and his team now."

"So I am guessing you weren't going to pay them?" Naruto pointed out.

"Correct kid, I wasn't intending to pay them anything from the start. Now the new plan is to cash out on Zabuza's bounty along with his team. I can also get rid of you all and Tazuna for the inconvenience you gave me for the past several weeks."

"You don't want any witnesses to make it back to the mainland, huh. You do realize we will send out a search team for us." Yamato reminded him.

Gato laughed and nodded. "True, but I convince Kirigakure it's their best interest to watch over my waters for me. Still, hiring ninjas' from affiliated villages is expensive in nature. Now that you are weakened to the point my mercenaries can finish you off. Cheap and efficient, like any great business plan. And I will take great pleasure in killing you those two for belittling me thinking I'm an ant." Gato explained.

Yamato shrugged. "You could, but you forgot something very crucial Gato-san." he pointed out to the crooked man.

"What would that be?" Gato curiously asked him.

"We are ninja not regular mercenaries Gato. Honoka, can you please grab him!" Yamato shouted.

The hot pinked girl hands snatched the short businessmen into the concrete disappearing shocking the men. As they suddenly started screaming in panic as Naruto looked confused at the scene.

Yamato turned their head around to see Yakumo standing there smiling. "A well placed genjutsu works the best here in this situation." she told them as they noticed Honoka coming up from the concrete bridge with Gato in hand. She dropped him on the ground as he looked up in terror. He saw the four of them staring down at them.

He looked down towards the end of the bridge seeing his army of thugs running away. "Come back, I am paying you all to protect me!" he shouted.

Yakumo spoke up. "They can't hear you at all and I doubt they will come back to help you. I used an illusion to scare them away. Furthermore, they are using your boat to escape with now." she explained to him.

As he saw mercenaries speeding off in their boat as Tazuna walked up to the group with an angry look on his face. "Not so tough when you don't have your men backing you up now Gato." Tazuna told him as he finally made a scene.

Gato waved his arms in front of him. "Come on, I can pay you guys, whatever you want. Just don't kill me please?" Gato pleaded.

Naruto pointed his sword at him, causing the man to flinch back. "We didn't take this mission for money we came here to help Tazuna. You think a feeble payout is supposed to bring back Kaiza and the other's you killed in cold blood." Naruto chastised the man. "I think we should cut him loose Yamato-sensei. A man like him isn't going to change."

"Wait, please don't kill me! I will give you anything millions to let me go!" he pleaded.

Yamato nodded. "Fine, we can make a deal, but first you will agree to our terms, got that?" Yamato told him.

"Name it!" Gato shouted.

"First of all you will pay for the actual A-rank Tazuna couldn't afford. Second, I want surrounding waters around wave and all business owned by Wave Country back in their hands." Yamato told him.

Gato looked at him crazily. "That would ruin me! Are you nuts!" Gato shouted.

Yamato stared at him casting killer intent with his ghoul eyes. "Do you want to die for what you've done. I can easily place you on a wooden spike and leave you there alive for days in agony before you die."

"Sorry, go ahead with your demands." Gato told him.

Yamato nodded. "I have other demands, but I will wait until Zabuza wakes up so he can join our conversation." Yamato told him as Gato became quiet.

"Y-you aren't going to kill him?" He nervously asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "No, we don't have the resources to keep him without him causing a problem. Besides that we have no quarrel now with each other, but he does with you. Since I'm too nice to be a shinobi it's up to him to deal with you in the end. Still, you will give us what we want in the end. I will assure you of that, because you're too evil to let go. It will take a demon to get rid of you."

Gato looked up in fear as his crotch became wet, as he couldn't muttered a word as Tazuna smiled.

"I think that is a wonderful idea… I bet he can make him disappear without a trace." Tazuna agreed.

.X.

 **Finally I'm done with this chapter and soon i will wrap up Wave Arc properly. I thought long and hard about this chapter in question. Plus the shifting schedule I have is terrible in nature. Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, but I'm sorry for the mispelling. My search for proofreaders that are good with extra time is a no go.**

 **However I would like to point out something in the chapter for you all. Team 3 is not like Team 7 and this story has moved off from canon quite a bit. So I will have to reason that something has changed greatly. Team 7 in canon was woeful unprepared for the dangers ahead. Yamato on the other hand is not a person to relax in the details, but he like to be prepared for situations at hand.**

 **So the fight scenes in question do look brutal… their mentality in question is correct. As well Zabuza's tactics in question and training Haku must have been limiting in it's own way as well. Zabuza wasn't a type of person to change tactics or adapt on the fly. He was train to maximize in slaughtering people. However working for a thug like Gato for a while has dulled him a bit.**

 **Nor the Mist in general preaches teamwork or focus on compensating their weakness, except for a few. For instance Kisame vs Itachi in the Naruto storm scene illustrated that even he is susceptible to genjutsu. So I reasoned Mist in general doesn't cover all the basics to shinobi training in fear someone goes rogue.**

 **After looking up the data on Kirigakure, they don't even have a registration system like Konoha. So don't get mad that doesn't end the way you expected it to. However I plan on wrapping up Wave Arc next chapter.**

 **By the way if you are one of those people who believe Naruto is to OC. Impressions left in Naruto can easily change him for the better or worse. In canon he didn't have anyone to be friends with. When he did get friends he pushed them out the way for Sasuke. Still personally the series in question could have been better in question.**

 **Naruto in question acted like Goku to me and Sakura was another clone of Tsunade. Sasuke well Kishimoto ruined his image and his personality greatly. Furthermore I thought the Akatsuki in question should have been fights that are quite challenging in nature. For instance Sasuke should have never won that fight against Deidara in live.**

 **Well enough of my personal rant, but I will be working on the next chapter now. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and review.**

 **See you guys later Kazama the Shell Bullet out!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Kishimoto does… however I can only claim the OC's I placed in this story.

.X.

 **Ch. 11**

 **Liberation**

.X.

Morning rolled around Nami no Kuni again, as the sound of cheering was heard throughout the air. As Honoka woke up from her bed as she slowly opened her eyes. She felt pain coming from her torso. She quickly looked down at her stomach noticing that her torso was wrapped in bandages. She also saw a familiar person sitting beside her holding out a teacup. Her eyes widen up in shock seeing her former enemy sitting there as she flinched trying to get up.

"I wouldn't try getting up so fast Honoka-chan, the wounds you gained from Koga's attack haven't healed yet, plus you also have chakra exhaustion." the androgynous boy told her. She looked around the room to see nobody was there at all.

"Um…" she muttered. "Where is everyone and why are you here?"

She took a sip of tea he gave her. "Well, Yakumo-chan is putting her medical skills to use by helping the doctor in town with his patients. Naruto on the other hand is guarding the bridge along with Tazuna and his workers. Zabuza-sama and Yamato-san, are convincing Gato to relinquish his money and personal supplies. So they won't be back for a while, so I volunteered to watch over you until they get back." Haku explained.

Honoka scratched her face nervously as she placed down her tea. "Hey H-Haku… are you mad about Koga and Muramasa?" she curiously asked him. Haku picked her tea cup and nodded.

"I don't hold any grudges Honoka-chan." He told her calmly. "We all knew one day something like that would happen in our line of work."

Honoka frowned sadly. "You don't even feel a bit sad that they're gone?" she asked him.

Haku nodded. "It's best to remember how they lived and the memories that we made together. However, I will admit having Koga and Muramasa around certainly made things easier with their skill set. Muramasa being a talented sensory ninja made sure we didn't fall into ambushes. Still we were risking our lives, by allying with Gato for his ruthless business tactics. In reality he wanted to cash out on bounties in the end to make more money.

"He wanted to cash out on your bounties for money? Isn't he a billionaire?" she asked him.

Haku nodded. "Zabuza-sama's bounty has jumped to 40 million Ryo ever since the failed assassination of the Mizukage Koga's bounty in question was 1 million Ryo alive, but that he is dead it's worth 800,000. Muramasa's bounty is worth 600, 000 Ryo now, since he is dead too." Haku informed her.

"So I am guessing Yamato-sensei wants to collect on their bounty, too?" she wondered as Haku nodded.

Haku nodded. "Correct, but we are very thankful he only needs a right hand for a proper identification along with a picture of their body. We laid Koga's and Muramasa's body to rest this morning with Yamato's help this morning on a nearby cliff overlooking the town." He told her. "Since you also captured the demon brothers' you all managed to collect their bounty of 150, 000."

"So they end up collecting a total of 1,550,000 Ryo on a mission that isn't ranked properly." a voice called back.

Haku and Honoka turned towards the door to see the towering missing ninja. He carried a big briefcase in his hand as she walked in. You could feel the lingering traces of blood coming from his sword on his back.

"I take it that the negotiations went well?" Haku asked him.

Zabuza sat his sword next to the door carefully. "It went rather well and I had a chance to see the CEO's of Gato Industries. I convinced them to pay what they owe and more with Gato's execution in front of them." Zabuza told them. As he sat down on the floor sitting with his suitcase filled with money.

"What about our things we left back at our old base?" Haku asked the man.

Zabuza grunted. "Gato removed everything of value out of it and burned it to the ground. So we will be staying here for a while, until your legs heal Haku." Zabuza told him.

"You do realize you haven't healed fully yourself as well Zabuza. The spores you breathed in haven't left your lungs, yet." a familiar voice called out. Yamato walked into the room as Zabuza grunted.

"To think that someone of the Mokuton element actually existed within the Konohagakure. However the news of one existing should have raised flags. I can only assume…" Zabuza muttered.

Yamato glared at the man. "You could stop speculating Zabuza, the wood element itself is a bit different from a normal Kekkei Genkai. It takes a certain level of ninjutsu skill and the combination of water and earth nature releases before it activates every cell in your body." Yamato explained cutting him off.

"Right," Zabuza sarcastically muttered.

Honoka listened on with interest. "Since you are here Yamato-sensei, what did you make Gato give up?" Honoka curiously asked.

As Yamato turned to his student. "All property, materials, and territorial rights from Wave Country are given back to the people. As also made sure he paid the full amount of an A-rank mission pay to ensure it covers Tazuna's cost, since he can't refund his money for the mission. Now that is over we continue within the normal parameters of the mission the Hokage gave us. I made sure I explained this to Tazuna and he accepted this without any complaints. In time a negotiator will come here to help make deals and trade with Wave Country." Yamato explained.

Honoka nodded as Yamato clicked his fingers. "By the way Honoka, Tsunami-san wanted you to come to her room for something important to see you."

The girl nodded as she made preparations to go meet the Tsunami as she left quickly out the door. Zabuza spoke up. "Since she just left, I always wanted to ask you a question?" Zabuza asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "Go ahead," Yamato agreed.

"What made you quit Anbu in the first place? Someone of your skill level is being wasted training them, despite being effective." Zabuza asked him.

"What made you train Haku then?" Yamato shot back.

Zabuza grunted as Haku smiled.

"I know for a fact that Haku and you mirror each other in some way. I know for a fact that Land of Water has been unforgiving to the people. However, Kirigakure just doesn't understand why Konoha sends our best to teach children."

"The reason being?" Zabuza curiously asked.

"Well, I know for a fact that we teach them in order to live and be successful. The Hokage makes sure to balance the teams, but ensures that the sensei in question has something in common with them in order to relate them in some form and matter. Furthermore graduating exam from the Academy doesn't involve killing, instead it's up the Jonin's discretion and how they test them. A majority of times only 33 percent of teams fail, this year was a bit different with four teams passing.

"Tests like what?" Haku curiously asked.

"I know for a fact Kurenai Yuuhi's test was a tracking test that combined teamwork. Sarutobi Asuma opted not for a test, because he knew the children mirrored their parents mostly. My test was based on their will to go farther and teamwork like Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato explained.

Zabuza's eyes looked up in shock. "Kakashi Hatake the Copy Ninja? You worked with him?" he asked as Haku looked at him.

Yamato nodded. "He is my senpai after all and he was the one who allowed me in his squad before the Hokage retired him. He leads Team 7 now and prides over teamwork above all else."

Haku spoke up. "Yamato-san, you said that you based your test of will power and teamwork? Why is that?" he asked the wood user.

"Simple, they all had a reason to become one in the first place and overcome their shortcomings. Naruto is a pariah in the village to many, but he has changed a lot of people's opinions about him. Instead of moping about Shisui's death, he pressed on and eventually he became the Rookie of the Year over Sasuke Uchiha."

"So an Uchiha still resides in Konoha, huh. Is he any good?" Zabuza asked him.

Yamato shrugged. "Depends on what you mean is good?" he told them.

"I'm guessing he isn't right in the head… no one can blame him, since his clan was wiped out in a single night with ease." Zabuza surmised.

"Maybe, but his attitude isn't winning him any favors at all, but let's stay on topic." He told them. "Yakumo had a mental deficiency and a weak body that almost prevented her from being a ninja. Honoka was the average one coming that had a relative quit being a ninja. She wants to prove that normal kids have a chance of beating clan kids at their own game." Yamato explained.

"So I am guessing their goals somewhat matches yours?" Haku guessed.

Yamato smiled. "True, my goal, is quite similar in life, we all want to be highly respected and recognized for our work. In truth being, in Anbu prevents me from making it come true. Still your dream of being Mizukage has some flaws in it, Zabuza. You do realize the people in question don't like the title the Bloody Mist. You don't even understand how economics work and make a system that works. With the way things heating up in civil war, it's been projected by our commander that Mei Terumi in question may be the next Mizukage." Yamato explained.

Zabuza grunted. "You make it sound like I can't do it?" Zabuza told him as Haku lightly chuckled.

Yamato shrugged. "Well, I know for a fact our Hokage has to deal with paperwork most of the time as well diplomats' and clients. Think real hard about what you what to do after after Haku heals up properly." Yamato advised as he walked out the door.

"Just because he got two victories in a row and he is telling me what to do." Zabuza grumbled.

"Well, it looks like you earned yourself a rival eh, Zabuza-sama?" Haku joked as Zabuza shrugged.

"Very funny Haku… I almost forgot to laugh." Zabuza sarcastically told him. He turned towards the Hyoton user. "By the way I distinctly remember the Kurama girl and the Inari girl wanted to play dress up with you. I will be sure to tell them they will be glad you join them and you can even practice putting on makeup with you. I'm sure there is a camera around here to help ensure we can make some enjoyable memories."

Zabuza smirked as Haku blushed a little flustered. "Zabuza-sama…" Haku started.

"Don't think you can weasel yourself out this, I will make sure you stay for it." Zabuza told him as Haku shook his head in embarrassment.

.X.

As the hours easily passed into the evening as everyone was coming together as the island was having a huge celebration cheering for the islands freedom. The supplies that Yamato gathered in the morning were confiscated goods that the Wave Country had produced over the past month. As people all over the islands gathered to celebrate their freedom from Gato. As many of the people in question wanted to help finish the bridge. New projections for the bridge to be finished at tops was now 2 weeks.

Naruto, Honoka, and Yakumo sat within Tsunami's room as Inari watched on interest holding Yakumo's camera. As Tsunami was getting some doing some final adjustments to their clothing. As Tsunami pulled back happily smiled as she clapped her hands.

"You all look wonderful with your new clothes. I took the time to match them your tastes, but I always wanted to make western style clothing for you all. Think of this as thanks for helping us out around the house." Tsunami told them.

Yakumo wore a light pink summer dress that had white frills around the edge. It had a white belt going around, her stomach that formed a bow in the back. She also wore a matching set of white heels that matched her white hat. She spun around in it to get a feel as she blushed. It was definitely a bit different from the usual kimono's she wore in the past. She felt a bit exposed with her legs out there like that.

Yakumo gave a polite bow to her. "Thank you for the kind gift." she thanked her as the woman smiled.

Honoka looked down happily at her clothes. She wore a denim jacket over her black tank top that had a pink also wore matching blue jeans, studded-sole trainers, and a white jewel-studded belt.

"I love the clothes and how many sets of clothes did you make?" Honoka happily asked.

"I made sure different set of clothes for you all to wear. It might not meet your be fit for combat, but they are great for walking around town and home." She told them as she motioned to the clothes on the bed.

Inari cocked his head. "Thank goodness I don't have to wear mom's creations…" Inari muttered. "The first time she made me clothes from another continent, it didn't look good at all."

Naruto walk out from behind the screen from changing out his clothes. He wore a orange-red leather jacket that covered his white collared shirt. He wore black jeans that matched his black shoes. He moved around them as he shifted his feet.

"I've only worn sandals for most my life, but I never worn actual shoes before." Naruto pointed out.

Tsunami nodded. "True, shoes and boots are not as popular on the mainland, but they make sure to keep your feet warm and protected from water." she told them as Inari snapped a picture of them all together.

As they heard a soft knock coming from the other side of the door. Naruto noticed the chakra signature coming from behind it. "You can come in, Yamato-sensei, everyone is dressed." he told them as the man opened the door.

As Yamato peaked his head through the door. "Hello, but I hate to put a damper on your spirits for enjoying the party. However, I need to us to review how the battle on the bridge went. I need to go over mistakes you went in battle." he told them.

As the three genin groaned in concert as Inari spoke up. "They made mistakes in battle?" he asked him.

Yamato nodded as he came through the door. "Of course they did and in our line of work not correcting them could be fatal to us." he told them as he sat on the bed. As his students sat down on their knees. "Where should I start with… Inari-kun, who would you pick first?"

The young boy pointed at Honoka. "I would pick Honoka-san first." he told him.

Yamato nodded. "Okay, Honoka you charged into battle with a good start, however you were easily knocked to the ground with ease. You still don't have the speed, evasion, and footsteps to take on experienced opponents especially with your bare hands. You telegraph a lot of your movements by moving forward. However, despite the disadvantages you had to manage to edge out a win. We will be working on hand seals, speed, and evasion tactics when we have some time." he told her.

The hot pink haired girl nodded. "Yes sir," she agreed to his judgement.

As he turned towards Yakumo. "You did a good job with your tactics in battle, but you have a problem of dragging out the battle by confronting them indirectly. Overall, we will need to work on your taijutsu skills even more now along with ninjutsu. Furthermore, you wasted most of your ninja tools in battle, which could be fatal in the long run." he told her as Yakumo nodded.

"I understand Yamato-sensei." she agreed.

He looked over to Naruto with a skeptical look. "You are the worst offender out of three here Naruto. Despite the great start off using a Kage Bunshin to trick Haku into using his ninjutsu. You were horribly outclassed in speed as well your defensive measures. You used a malformed Gokakyu jutsu with a wind technique that could have easily backfired on you. As well, use Chakra no Yoroi a move that places a heavy drain on your chakra reserves. You also took a risk and letting Haku hit you to score a blow on him."

Naruto frowned. "In my defense, I couldn't touch him at all, let alone see how the jutsu works." he told him.

Yamato nodded. "True, but you could have easily asked me to make a wood clone for you to replace with. As well you could have used a smoke bomb to cover your tracks or a flash bang to blind Haku. Performing jutsu you have no proficiency in is dangerous, but next time I will we will have a training session to ensure what the limits of those two jutsu you used the other day." he explained. "However, I managed to find a common pattern within our team dynamics that showcases are team talents."

"That is?" Yakumo asked her.

"You all have skills relating to ambushes and frontal assaults. So I will make sure to gear our training towards it as well cover our bases still." Yamato informed them. " Zabuza will be here tomorrow to join us for the training. Haku will help teach you two how to use hand seals as Naruto gets a crash course on how to use ninjutsu with a sword, but overall a kenjutsu style."

The three genins look on in confusion as Tsunami spoke up now. "Weren't you just enemies until a day ago? Is that really dangerous to let them be trained by a man that is called a demon." she worriedly asked them.

Yamato shrugged. "True, but we both have a dangerous occupation and every little thing counts in the end. Besides that, they volunteered on the matter itself. Still Haku has taken a shine to you guys and he would be joining you guys out on your outing with Inari. So have fun, while I stay and watch over Tazuna.

Naruto cocked his head. "You aren't going to have fun Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked him as the man waved it off.

"No, but I want you to enjoy yourselves at the party tonight. You need to enjoy whatever is left of your childhood now rather than later." he told them.

Naruto picked up Inari smiling. "Now we can head off to the party tonight post-haste!" Naruto shouted happily as he placed Inari on his shoulders as the boy laughed happily.

"Okay!" Inari shouted happily as he carried the camera with him. They proceeded out the door as Naruto spoke up.

"It looks like Haku is right, outside our door." Naruto spoke up as the girls rushed downstairs to meet Yuki boy.

Tsunami smiled. "You are really are kind Yamato-san, you could have easily kept them on guard for tonight." she told him.

The man scratched the back of his head a bit embarrassed. "True, but the thing they need now is other people to interact with. Even Haku himself needs other people to be around as well. We may be Shinobi, but at the end of the day we are still human. The fact of someone dying or you are causing it not something we ignore lightly. However I wonder how Kakashi-senpai is doing with Sasuke in general?" Yamato wondered.

Tsunami looked up at Yamato. "What is wrong with Sasuke?" she asked him.

Yamato sighed. "Well, his past is similar to Inari's own experience, but on a bigger scale. He lost his whole clan in a night to his brother Itachi. Instead of moping around like Inari did he is hoping to avenge his clan."

Tsunami frowned. "I see, but what is so dangerous about that?" she asked him.

"First of all Zabuza and Haku in question accepted that their comrade's death might happen one day. They don't hold any grudges with us after all the fighting. Sasuke on the other hand is not mentally prepared for the task and his obsession might end up hurting him or getting him killed in the process. As you see becoming a Jonin-sensei is no small feat when whatever you teach and say can make a difference in the future." he told her.

He looked outside the window to see the five of them walking together as they laughed in the distance. Yamato sighed as he slouched his shoulders.

"Now all I have to worry about is reporting home after the mission." he muttered.

"What is so bad about that?" she asked him.

Yamato sighed heavily. "I might be reprimanded for taking on a mission, I wasn't suppose to take. Still, I hope the funds I had Gato send over would smooth over things when we get back home. I also made sure to catalogue the things we acquired and maintain a report on the mission so far." he told her.

.X.

It was almost two weeks and the bridge was near completed as Team 3 were put into a series of drills throughout their time in Wave Country. They met Haku and Zabuza several times during their stay in Wave. As the group were learning new aspects of fighting in general from the group. Honoka and Yakumo were training their hands to use one handed seals as the group as well retraining their taijutsu.

Naruto was learning how to use his sword in conjunction with one handed seals from the demon of the Mist himself. As they were drilled quickly how to handle killer intent as well muffle any sound they make. They also learned how to circulate and control their breathing during times they need to swim or hold the breath from harmful gas.

Zabuza in question had taken a shine to Honoka, since she came from a regular family compared to the kids that come from a clan. He would never admit such a thing to them, but Haku pointed it out to them. Naruto managed to convince him to teach his Kirigakure jutsu, despite Zabuza's protests of village secrets.

As the group had different levels of success and Naruto having the most. He heavily saturated the area with a thick mist that smothered everyone. Honoka and Yakumo could only make a small mist that covered a small room. Zabuza's words behind the technique relied on people that had large chakra reserves and a nearby water source to maximize the ability.

Now there together was coming to a close as Zabuza was trying to secure a transport for them to leave the country as Naruto, Honoka and Yakumo stood in front of the dock. Yamato walked up behind the group cracking a smile.

"When the bridge is open tomorrow we will be leaving as well, so we might as well say our goodbyes soon." Yamato told them.

Honoka hefted a huge case in her arms as she handed to Haku with a smile. Haku opened the case open to see a mountain of sweets inside the bag.

Honoka spoke up. "Since Zabuza-san isn't keen on you eating sweets I decided to make you a ton before you go." she proudly told him.

Haku gave a sweet smile. "Thank you for the gift and I am quite curious to see what they taste like Honoka." he told her. Yakumo presented a painting to Haku next.

"Since I had some free time, I managed to make this for you. Hopefully Zabuza-san won't tear it up when he sees it." she told him.

It was a picture of Haku and Zabuza relaxing on the beach together calmly as they watched from afar seeing their younger selves. Young Haku was playing childishly in the water, while attempting his water walking exercise.

Haku smiled the brightest as he gratefully took the painting from Yakumo. "Thank you for such a wonderful gift, Yakumo told her as she smiled back as Honoka pouted.

Naruto took the time to prepare his gift as he held up a silver necklace with a blue crystal snowflake attached to it. He held it for Haku to grab it, he felt the ice coming from it.

"It feels cold…" he muttered.

Naruto smiled happily. "Of course it is, I managed to make the necklace cold to the touch using a seal. It also doubles a storage seal on the back of the necklace and to seal things away. Just tap your necklace onto an object and just add chakra." Naruto told him.

Haku did so with the painting and the sweets. He saw the seal absorb the items in an instant without smoke as Haku gave a nod to Naruto. "I love it and you even managed to eliminate the smoke…" his words were stopped as he saw small flakes of ice come from the necklace.

Naruto smiled brightly. "I replaced the smoke effect with snowflakes with Yamato-sensei's help." Naruto told him.

Haku smiled as he placed the necklace around his neck. As heard Haku heard Zabuza's footsteps coming from behind.

Zabuza grunted. "Are you done with the goodbyes, yet Haku? Hanging around these kids will make you even softer like them." He told him as he picked up Honoka by the head. As she flailed her arms up as she cried out in protests.

"Put me down!" She pleaded.

"This one doesn't have a normal strength of a girl her age." he noted as he turned to Naruto next. "He isn't using his blade to its fullest potential by only using disabling strikes. That type of fighting would get you killed down the road if you don't finish off your opponents fast enough. The Kurama girl in question can't handle fighting up close to an opponent and it she ends up exhausting her weapons along with her energy."

Yamato nodded. "I will be sure to focus on that when we get back home." he told him as Zabuza put Honoka down. Zabuza left the group going towards the boat as Haku chuckled.

"That is Zabuza-sama's way of showing he cares and the fact you need to improve if you want to survive on the battlefield. He has learned real quickly that complacency in your skills is one step away towards death." he told them.

"Haku let's go! Heading towards Mist's requires timing above all else." he shouted.

Haku nodded and bowed. "I hope we all meet again under better circumstances and Mist is finally liberated from the Yondaime Mizukage." Haku gave his goodbye as Team 3 gave their goodbyes to them.

Yamato patted his team on his head. "We can only hope that they can liberate Kirigakure from the Mizukage's tyranny otherwise he might see a reason to move on to other nearby countries." Yamato hoped.

Honoka turned to her sensei. "We will get in trouble for letting them go?" she asked him.

As Yamato shrugged. "Who knows, but I know for a fact that we didn't need more bloodshed on anyone's hands. However, I am not one without any mercy and understanding. Everyone on Team 3 has drawn the short stick somewhere in the lives. Zabuza's growth was dictated from the moment he was born and so was Haku. Haku could have easily killed Yakumo with ease, but he didn't do anything."

The three genin smiled and nodded.

Yamato spoke up again. "So we get back home, we talk directly to the Hokage about the mission and I will no doubt be talking to your guardians and parents about the mission."

Naruto spoke up. "Well, you don't have to worry about talking to people about me about my safety." he tried reassuring him.

Yamato sighed. "Naruto that's not true at all between Anzu, Kenichi, Rin, Iruka, Teuchi, Ayame, and the Hokage I will have my hands full trying to explain the situation to them.

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. "I forgot…" he muttered.

Yakumo sighed and turned towards her sensei. "Since we are on the subject going back home. I made you a painting myself Yamato-sensei with your fight Zabuza-san. You could show it off during your outing with the other Jonin-senseis'." she happily told them.

Yamato smiled, patting her head. "You do realize this mission might be classified due to its jump in rank." Yamato explained as Yakumo blushed.

"My parents talk about the A-ranks they have taken in the past." she told him.

"Most likely the missions they told you were no doubt declassified, however this mission, we undertook has political implications in it. You do remember I extorted Gato and I let Zabuza kill him off." he reminded them.

"So we can't tell anyone about what happened here…" they muttered as Yamato smile.

"At least take comfort the higher ups back home will know about it along with the people of Wave Country." he comforted them.

.X.

The next morning as dawned clear and fine. Team 3 made sure to pack their things, chase down lost equipment, and double checking to ensure nothing was left behind.

Naruto took down the security seals and sensory barrier around the house as Yakumo took down the regular traps' that was hidden around the worker's equipments. Honoka made a trip around town gathering souvenirs' and local food from the town's people to bring back home for the team.

After their tasks were done, Team 3 gathered at the bridge ready to leave.

"Do you really have to leave so soon?" Inari said sadly as he to Naruto as he, his family, villagers, and a good number of bridge workers came to see Team 3 off."

Inari had stuck like glue to Naruto after he saved his mother.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I've got to go back to my village, I've still got things to do myself, and I can't stay here forever." he gestured over to the finished bridge. "Besides that Gato is dead and you have your island back along with the things Gato took." He had noticed his head down, shaking quietly, "Hey, are you crying? It's alright to cry if you are happy."

"No!" Inari exclaimed. "Why would you think I'm doing something like that? Are you going to cry?"

Naruto ruffled his head and smiled. "Nope, but if you ever want to visit us you know where to go." he told him.

Yamato spoke up now interrupting them. "Well, it's about time we head home, our job here is done."

Everyone waved, giving their goodbyes. "Next time we visit, we can actually relax and have fun." Honoka happily told them.

Yakumo handed Tazuna a painting of the bridge with Kaiza in the distance of the background. The old man couldn't help, but smile. "I hope the bridge can help everyone move forward in their lives. I think that is what Kaiza wanted everyone to do in the end." she told him.

Tazuna nodded as Yamato gave his goodbye.

As they made the journey down the bridge heading back to Hi no Kuni.

Tsunami spoke up now. "So father," Tsunami said once the Team 3 was were almost out their sight range. "The bridge isn't complete yet, it doesn't have a name." she pointed out.

As Tazuna gripped the painting in his hands and placed it under his arm. "True, and I know a good name to give it as well. It describes our bond from our country to their country through their actions and good will. Kizuna Ohashi (The great bridge of bonds) is a representation of their actions here and something we can all recall proudly together." Tazuna explained

Inari looked up at him with a shocked looked. "That's a great name!" he told them.

Tazuna nodded with a smile. "Even those kids of his agreed that the name was perfect. It also helps keep the memory of Kaiza from fading from the people's heart as well. Sort of like the Naruto keeping a sword named Shisui on his side." he told them.

.X.

The trip back to Konoha only took three days using ninja speed as Naruto was leading the group with his speed.

He saw up ahead the gates to Konoha and smiled brightly. "We are finally home!" he shouted happily. As the rest of Team 3 landed behind him as they sighed in relief.

Yamato walked up the guards in question as they had a smile on their faces. "Yo Yamato, how did your C-rank go?" a man with brown hair and dark eyes asked.

As the other one spoke up as he had long black spiky hair and dark eyes. "All things considered they seem to be in one piece, but I heard news around the tower it might not have not gone smoothly." he told him.

Yamato shrugged. "Izumo and Kotetsu, it may have not gone smoothly, but it was an learning experience like none-other. What have you guys done lately, since I left?" Yamato asked him as Team 3 was going through the security process.

Izumo glared at his best friend Kotetsu. "Kotetsu has shrugged off his duties and hanging out at the Jonin standby station eating sweets during our hours." he told him.

Kotesu rubbed the back of his head. "I said I was sorry and besides that now you are coming up with a new jutsu because of it." He apologized.

"A new jutsu eh, when is it going to be finished?" Yamato asked him.

Izumo waved it off. "It will take some time to get it down and see its weaknesses and strength before I deploy it in battle. I want to make sure that I'm credited with its creation before I tell anyone else." Izumo explained as he looked over their documents. "Everything seems in order and you guys can enter, however you should take priority in getting to the tower in report back in."

Yamato nodded as he turned to Team 3. "Let's move out to the tower quickly and report back in. I can only assume that the debriefing in question might be long. Then the standard medical check up and mental exam afterwards."

The three older men heard the genins' groan as Kotetsu and Izumo chuckled. "Let's not forget the paperwork that follows first before you receive payment for the mission." Kotetsu reminded them as they heard another groan come from them.

Izumo smirked. "In the future you would do your best to collect information on your opponents' or the things you encountered on your mission." he advised them.

"I have been making them write partial reports to ensure we don't leave anything out." Yamato reassured them. As the group quickly flickered out of view heading towards the tower. As it took a good ten minutes to go through the tower and wait for their turn at the mission debriefing.

As the group stood before him as the Hokage took a puff of his pipe. He looked up at them with a serious face. "I am guessing the mission was a success?" he asked them.

Yamato nodded. "Yes, and despite the circumstances Tazuna is safe and the bridge is completed." he reported.

Sarutobi stood up from his seat. "Good job Yamato and Team 3, but I would like to have a word with your sensei in private. So can you please wait patiently until we get back?" He asked them.

The three genin nodded as Naruto spoke up. "Do you want me do your paperwork, while we wait Jiji?" Naruto asked him.

The old man smiled. "Of course Naruto, I can imagine that this meeting will be a bit long." Sarutobi thanked him as Naruto quickly took his place at the mission desk.

As the Hokage lead it to the other room as he quickly saw two people coming into the room. He activated the privacy seals as the Hokage sat down in his seat.

"I want you to go over everything you did ever since you left on your mission to Wave Country, Yamato. If you have any pictures, notes, reports, and body parts I would like to them on my desk now." Sarutobi told him.

Yamato nodded as he unraveled the scroll on the desk containing the things he gathered during their mission. He explained concisely and what happened exactly during their mission to Wave Country. Gato died after he released all of Wave Country's assets, Wave Country had earned their respect, and they also built a weird, but strong relationship with Zabuza and Haku.

In all things the team had minor injuries during the mission that Yakumo herself treated with ease. It went rather well by his perspective.

Sarutobi spoke up. "So did Naruto's seal act up during the mission?" Sarutobi curiously asked.

Yamato nodded. "No, but I made sure to check on his seal when he went to sleep. However, I have noticed it has healed Naruto rather quickly after his fight with Haku." Yamato pointed out as the Hokage nodded.

"Now my next question is the mental state of your team. Honoka and Yakumo have killed their first person in battle." The Hokage asked.

"Well, I have decided to have a talk with my team about it after the fight. So far with Zabuza and Haku's help they don't feel too bad about their deaths in general. Still, we made sure they gained a proper burial to help ease their minds of what they done. I was hoping to run them by the hospital for a medical check and a round of therapy just to be sure." Yamato told him.

The Hokage nodded. "Of course, but there are few things I need you to do." he told him.

"Write an a full detailed report on the mission and attach our notes and evidence as references so we can get paid accordingly." Yamato surmised as the Hokage nodded.

"Despite the mission not going as planed you did a good job Yamato, but I can only assume that their parents',guardians, and friends' are not going to go easy on you." Sarutobi praised him as he stood up from his seat as he deactivated the seal. He walked out the door and motioned a Chunin to come in to collect the things on the desk. As they moved back to the mission assignment desk to see a few faces.

Shinko Inari was hugging her cousin tightly as they hugged back. Uroko and Murakumo hugging their daughter a bit embarrassed. Rin Nohara sat looking at Naruto disappointed as he turned his head away. They turned towards Yamato now with a bit of concern as he sighed nervously.

" _Well,I knew this might happen, but not this soon… still I didn't think would show up to see Naruto. I wonder how everyone knew we were home."_ he thought.

"Well hello everyone and it's good to see you all here so I can talk to you personally about a few things. However, we should wrap up the needed paperwork to collect our payment for the mission as well. Then take this to the hospital for a checkup," he advised.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," a new voice called out as the group turned to a woman with blonde hair and purple eyes. She wore doctor's clothing with a badge on her chest. The medic-nin turned towards the woman. "What are you doing here Mai-chan?" she asked her.

Yamato noticed the badge on her chest had her full name. _Mai Yamanaka/Psychologist_

"Well, I was alerted by Izumo that Team 3 came back from a heavy combat mission." she told them.

Yamato spoke up. "I am guessing Izumo and Kotetsu told them that we were here?" Yamato told her.

Mai smiled and nodded happily. "Yes, and the reason why we learned this information because the medical division works closely the Torture and Interrogation division. Rin learned from them that they fought Ninja on the C-rank mission, while I learned this information from Inoichi." she informed them.

"Then Rin told Uroko-san and Murakumo-san…" Yamato muttered.

"Then they told Shinko-chan about the mission in question. However to my surprise you continued a mission way above their skill level with no proper information. Most teams would have headed straight back home after that." she pointed out putting him on the spot.

Yamato shrugged calmly. "True, but it wasn't something we could easily drop so I put to a vote. Leave a man to die for something he can't control along with his friends and family." Yamato explained to them.

"You can explain that to them, while I undergo my therapy session with them. I will have Kito-sensei does the medical check up, on them first." she explained as she looked at genin. "Judging from my first glance Honoka needs to be checked first and Naruto-kun will enjoy our first session together."

Naruto groaned. "I want to go home now…" Naruto muttered as he thought about using his Shunshin jutsu as Rin stared at him.

"If you trying to leave Naruto-kun, think it over again, you can't resume active service without a an okay from a doctor." She told him.

"Does everyone have to go through this?" Naruto muttered.

Mai smiled. "Of course, everyone does and especially for young cute rookies like yourself. Still, I do have a hard time with others and political implications… so please be nice and comply." she asked as Naruto nodded.

"Okay." he reluctantly agreed. As Mai looked at the girls who nodded as well.

.X.

 **Now I have finally ended the Wave Arc and I hoped you enjoy the story so far… despite my terrible grammar. I have been looking out for a Beta Reader and sent out emails to find one. However, no one has answered once to them and I haven't heard back from them. Plus the fact work has been really kicking my butt lately and the heat index of 90 to a 100 degrees isn't helping at all. So I hope I am posting this chapter on Sunday June 26.**

 **So I a bit lost what to do next for an arc or go with the Chunin exams, which many undergo in their story. Personally and investigation mission sounds boring to me and readers. I found Team 3's calling in my story being more geared towards ambushes, assassinations', and frontal assaults. Things Anbu tend to do in the field from when I watched the Kakashi and Itachi arcs containing their Anbu days.**

 **Personally I don't want to kill the story by making them overpowered, but make it bit logical than DBZ it all the way. Personally I detest on how Naruto ended on that note and so many things not answered by Kishimoto. Making contradictions and retconning the series was a bit too much to me. Villains such as Orochimaru fell to the wayside and Kunoichi in general didn't even play a part in the story.**

 **Don't get me started with Sakura the clone of Tsunade… there was so much potential with her to show she could've grown into something much more. So many other OC stories containing girls can actually fight…**

 **Never mind enough ranting about the series I have no control over. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and review. Please it drives me mad not knowing if the chapter was unseen by people!**

 **Kazama the Shell Bullet out! Peace!**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but only the OC's presented in the story. If I did own Naruto I wouldn't have made a Naru/Hina or Sas/Sak pairing in the end to quell the fans.

.X.

 **Ch.12**

 **Down Time**

.X.

Mai Yamanaka looked down at her paper as she studied her reports. After having a sit down with Team 3 in general and after a few sit downs with them during their off week. She found quite a few things off about the team in question, but in her opinion, there were other head cases in the genin core that were messed up.

She looked at several file on her table of the worst offenders. _Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki._

She felt a presence coming behind her as she turned her slowly seeing Rin standing behind. She held out tea to the Mai who took it greatly.

"I see you are hard at work still and you even managed to follow up with extra sessions with them." Rin noticed as Mai nodded.

"Of course, and I would say Naruto in question would be the one with the most problems." she told her.

Rin shifted uncomfortably. "Is this about the villagers in question?" She asked.

Mai nodded. "During my little hypnosis session with him he, hates the villagers with a passion, Rin. Mind you Naruto in question thinks the world about the people who treat him like a regular person. Shisui Uchiha did a good job of making sure Naruto didn't grow up alone and ignored. He would hardly trust the word of someone that doesn't like him, over our words." Mai explained.

"I see… what about Honoka and Yakumo?" Rin asked her as Mai took a sip of the tea.

As Mai sett down her tea on the table. "Yakumo is doing pretty well and her mental health is pretty good. Honoka in question is okay for the most part, but inside she is kind and determined soul. Yet, there are still lingering memories about Sasuke Uchiha putting her in the hospital 5 years ago. She does her best to ignore since she has her friends around her." Mai carefully explained.

"She would never talk to Sasuke unless it's for the mission." Rin finished as Mai nodded.

"In truth during the past five years she has never said a word about him and has never associated with Sasuke's fan club ever." she told her colleague. "Honoka is now worrying about something new in question."

Rin looked at her friend with confusion. "Worrying about something else?"

"Growing pains…" Mai giggled as Rin blushed.

"Are her breasts really growing that big?" She curiously asked.

Mai shrugged. "At that rate they may be big as Tsunade's in the future. However, she worries about boys in general staring at her and only asking for dates because of physical appearance alone. Plus the fact it costs more money to go up in size, rather down in size." She joked a little. "On that note, Sakura Haruno in question is the complete opposite from Honoka. She worries that she isn't developing into a woman with curves."

Rin shook her head and sighed. "Well with the fact she is finally off her crazy diet along with Ino. I don't think Sakura will notice growth her chest until her pregnancy stages like Mebuki-san did and they might not be that big." Rin pointed out.

Mai shook her head. "Genetics you have to love and hate them, still…" Mai flicked her pin towards the window.

"Hey…" a voice called out as Rin towards the window with Mai. They saw Kakashi sitting on the window sill as he caught the pen in his hand.

Rin puffed her cheeks placing her hands on her hip. "Kakashi, how many times do I have to tell you walk into the hospital not go through the window. Do I have to immobilize you again like when you tried leaving the hospital?" Rin asked him.

Kakashi laughed nervously. "No, but I am sorry to drop in all of a sudden at the hospital. However, I wanted to inquire where is Yamato and his team at?" Kakashi asked as he slid into the room.

Rin spoke up. "Naruto, is grounded for now…"

Kakashi sighed. "Come on Rin, you can't punish Naruto for going on a noble mission." Kakashi started.

"Inexperienced genin don't go on A-rank mission unless it's a dire constraint from our forces. You do realize that…" she stopped herself as Kakashi frowned a little.

"I know that _they_ aren't here to support him." Kakashi admitted. "However, he didn't grow up alone and made wonderful friends and people that treat him like a family. Still, we all knew that day might happen… we weren't expecting it to be a bit too early."

Mai sensed the tension in the room. "True, and your surprise A-rank mission was almost similar to Yamato's in question. Your team were fighting Missing-nin from Kirigakure." Mai pointed out changing the conversation.

Kakashi nodded. "True, and Sasuke has even awakened the Sharingan during the mission."

"So he finally awakened it, huh." Rin asked her old teammate. "I bet he is really keen on trying to master his Sharingan."

Kakashi nodded. "True, but our teamwork has been strained quiet recently ever since he awakened the Sharingan." he told them.

Mai frowned. "You do realize the parallels' between Sasuke and your younger self Kakashi…" she pointed out.

"It's scary." Rin finished.

Mai looked at Sasuke's file. "Personally, Sasuke in question has an inferiority and a superiority complex that was never said personally. You can't beat out things like that Kakashi without a reality check. He was preached by his father that the Uchiha Clan is the best, but never acknowledged for his talents. Plus the mental mind damage Itachi did to him wasn't helping him." Mai told him.

Kakashi nodded as Rin thought about it for a moment. "So the reason why you asked for Yamato and his team was to help reinforce the teamwork idea." Rin asked him.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, but I can only assume it would have drawbacks if I did that. He might see that his team is holding him back from doing better." Kakashi pointed out as Mai nodded.

"Correct, and he may go off on them if they win the sparring match. It's best not to do that just yet, Kakashi and I can only assume teamwork exercises would be a waste of time. Personally, I think one on one time itself could be detrimental to the team's performance as well." Mai told him.

Kakashi scratched his head. "Damned if you and damned if you don't." he muttered. "Sometimes I wish I had Yamato's luck in getting a good squad. They actually listen to him…"

"Plus, they give him gifts and homemade foods when they have the time." Rin finished. "He even got a painting from Yakumo about his fight with Zabuza."

Kakashi sighed as Mai looked at her watch. "Hey Kakashi, aren't you going to meet your team today?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes," he answered quickly.

"You are two hours late to your meeting spot if I am correct." she pointed out.

Kakashi waved to them with a smile. "Sorry…" He felt a palm hit him and stung him. "Ouch, what was the for Rin?"

"For being late and especially not taking good care of your students, Kakashi." She pulled him by the arm. "Knowing you, you wouldn't even head to their meeting spot for at least one more hour."

Kakashi tried to struggle free from her grip. "I was about to go there…" he was cut off by Rin's lecture.

"I will look after Naruto and makes sure he finishes his homework with you Rin," Mai reassured her friend as she nodded happily.

"Thank you Mai," she told her as she dragged Kakashi away, despite Kakashi's protests. Mai giggled and shook her head.

"It seems that Rin still has feelings for Kakashi, huh…" she muttered as she got up from her seat. "I might as well check up on kiddo and see what he is doing."

She took her tea with her and left the room in a hurry.

.X.

Meanwhile, nearby the Dango shop as Honoka was running towards the building holding a big bag in her hands. She wore a white tank top with a collar as she wore blue denim boy shorts that complemented. As black boots landed hard against the payment as stopped at the building. She looked down around her waist to see her headband was tied to her waist. She had yellow bands on her arms and legs that had resistance seals written on them.

She managed to walk in the dango shop proudly as she saw the owner smiled at her. She wore her kimono proudly. She was an older woman in her late thirties as she waved to her. Her brown hair and gold eyes help make her stand out from the crowd.

"Welcome back Honoka, I take it your delivery to Mitarashi-san went well." she asked her.

Honoka handed the woman the cash. "Of course Takahashi-san, and she even managed to give a bit tip of 1000 Ryo as well." Honoka told her.

The woman smiled as she waved it off. "You can call me Rei-san, like usual Hono-chan. You don't officially work with the shop anymore, however guys your age does come around asking questions about you."

"Especially that boy in the green in the green jumpsuit." Rei motioned to the table with ninjas. As she noticed the boy looked similar to the older man in question. She noticed Neji Hyuga at the table along with a girl sitting at the table.

She quickly realized they were the Top rookie team from last year and the boy Yakumo looked up to before she joined the Academy. He has changed the most during his six months with his sensei being his idol.

"I see, but why is he asking for me…" she sounded a bit creeped out.

Rei patted Honoka's head. "You don't realize how pretty you have grown Hono-chan and I am surprised that no one is dating you right now." She giggled as Honoka scratched her finger a bit flustered.

"I don't think the boys my age care for my personality, but my…chest…" she muttered in embarrassment.

Rei nodded. "True, you should be careful of making a relationship so easily with the opposite sex. Finding someone that appreciates you and loves you is hard these days." Rei lectured. She quickly noticed Chef placing the food down on the counter along with the tea.

"Order up," he announced.

Rei nodded as she turned to Honoka. "Can you please deliver it to their table, please, Honoka? They waited patiently for their meal to come along." Rei asked her as she nodded.

"Of course Rei-san," she told her as she carefully picked up the plate holding the dango and tea.

She made her way carefully to the table without bumping into anyone. She turned towards them professionally.

"Here is your order Maito-san and sorry for the wait." Honoka apologized as Team Gai looked up at the girl. Neji narrowed his had noticed who the girl as she noticed a gleam from Lee's eyes. Maito Gai gave a thumbs up.

"We weren't waiting long young lady, but thank you for being timely." Gai thanked her. She passed their orders to them. Rock Lee smiled at her as his female teammate sighed.

"Hello, my name is Rock Lee and is your name Honoka?" Lee asked.

"I am Honoka Inari…" she answered.

He gave a thumbs up with a smile. "Let's go out together! I will protect you until I die."

Honoka stared at him as Gai smiled.

"Um… no." Honoka muttered.

Lee looked dejected for a moment. "Why not?" he asked.

"There are several reasons why, but the first one is the fact I don't need your protection. If I am going to be stronger I can't cower behind people." Honoka's answered.

Gai patted the boy's shoulder. "Such a youthful answer Honoka-chan and I'm sorry Lee she didn't accept your offer. Can you tell me the other reason, why you said no to him?" Gai asked her.

"Number one, he was too forward and I don't know anything about him at all. He sounded like a stalker the moment he talked to me." Honoka admitted.

Tenten nodded her head. "That is what you get Lee for being too direct, I told you all about this." she lectured her teammate.

"Or maybe she is being too polite to a person who dresses and looks weird." Neji muttered.

Honoka shrugged. "Or the fact he doesn't understand what a real relationship is let alone the qualities to make one last." Honoka politely told him. She picked up the serving board with her as Neji eyes her.

"So you are that visitor that visits the manor with the Kurama girl, huh?" Neji asked as Lee looked at his rival with fiery eyes.

"Neji…" Lee muttered.

"Calm down Lee, I am only asking a question."

Honoka nodded. "Yes," Honoka answered.

Gai spoke up. "So you must be Yamato's kids, huh. I hear the stories you are doing great just coming out the Academy."

"You know Yamato-sensei?" Honoka asked curiously.

Gai smiled happily. "Of course he is my rival's Kouhai after all and a good upstanding man. I remember the days he used to be in Anbu along with Kakashi. Is he doing well lately?" he asked her.

Honoka nodded with a smile. "Of course, but right now he is out on a mission to keep his skills sharp. Before that he took some time out to help with the Jonin exam in question. Hopefully he will back during the week so we can resume our training." Honoka told her.

Tenten turned her head in curiosity. "This is the first time hearing about Yamato? Who is he Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked him.

Gai's mood turned a bit serious. "Well… he is a hard worker by nature too. Overall, I was too focused with my eternal rival Kakashi to ever mention him to you guys." Gai explained calmly.

Honoka cocked her head. "Kakashi-sensei never mentions you at all as well when we train with him." she told him.

"That sounds like my eternal rival and he seems a bit carefree as usual. So give my regards to Yamato if you see him."

Honoka nodded before leaving. "Wait a moment…" Neji called out as Honoka turned around.

"Something wrong or do you need something?" Honoka asked her.

"Do you really think you are good at Taijutsu?" Neji asked her.

As she knew something was up his question. "Does this have to do something with Hanabi-chan and me sparring with her?" Honoka asked him.

"Of course, and I want to see how good you really are against an experienced member of Jyuken. I can see you are free to have a spar, huh." Neji asked her.

As she silently flexed her hand. "I would have to decline your offer to a spar, I'm on leave until the week is over. I am under orders from Mai Yamanaka and Rin Nohara." Honoka told him.

"I see… sorry to interrupt you then." Neji told her as Honoka walked away.

"What was that Neji?" Tenten curiously asked.

"I just wanted to show her the truth, she is not good at taijutsu as it appears. Facing Hanabi and Hinata is child's play compared to a real practitioner of the style."

"You shouldn't get cocky Neji," Gai warned her. "If you didn't notice she is wearing resistance seals."

"Resistance seals, what are those Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

"It's essentially like your weights Lee, but they only direct the person and doesn't influence gravity on objects. On top of that statement I said early as long you know the basics to a style you can understand how it works." Gai explained.

Tenten spoke up curiously. "By the way Lee, why would you think confessing like that to her was a good idea."

Lee blushed as Gai smiled. "Simple Tenten, Lee wasn't the only the one practicing hard after school. He often saw Honoka-chan training hard into the afternoon herself." Gai told him.

Tenten sighed. "So you really have been stalking her, huh. Now I know why she was scared away." She muttered.

"I wasn't stalking, I was admiring her determination!" Lee passionately told them.

"By the way, since you have been stalking her, who else have you been stalking Lee?" Neji accused him.

"Sakura Haruno…" he muttered.

Gai smiled. "Don't worry Lee, next time you will have a shot with her. At least she doesn't hate you so be your usual youthful self." Gai reassured him.

"Yes, Gai-sensei," Lee agreed.

Neji spoke up. "What are the chances that this year's rookies will join the Chunin Exams?" Neji asked.

Gai thought about it for a moment. "Well, it depends on their Jonin-sensei in question, knowing my eternal rival, he will definitely enter his team. However, all genin must go through a preliminary exam to test their skills. A Chunin will be assigned to one genin and place them under certain conditions. If they fail they don't get in and have to wait the next time around." Gai informed them.

"How hard are the preliminary exams Gai-sensei?" Lee asked him.

"Personally, I don't know Lee, it's up to the Hokage if it's an okay exam." Gai told him as Lee fell into deep thought for a moment.

.X.

Meanwhile, on the hillside overlooking the village as she wore a yellow sundress and a pair of low heeled sandals. She placed her white straw hat on her head. She looked at her painting she drew of with her teammates as it mirrored her team picture.

"Another painting for my collection…" Yakumo muttered in joy. She picked up her iced tea to drink.

"Definitely a keeper for your art collection, do you think show them them to museum curator or an artist your paintings." a voice called out.

Yakumo turned towards the voice to see her uncle walking towards him. He had light brown hair and small black eyes.

"Hello Unkai Oji-san, and I don't think an art museum will take an amateur's painting made by me." Yakumo told him.

He walked over to the small blanket and sat down beside her. "You don't know if you don't try Yakumo. Besides that I heard recently from your father you were on an A-rank mission." Unkai told her. "You do realize how scared they were when they heard you fought an enemy ninja in live combat."

Yakumo frowned. "I know… and it's suffocating to see them baby me still. I want to make them…"

"Proud, well you are already doing that Yakumo. What we don't want you to do is rush ahead and forget the finer things in life. Becoming a Jonin of this village is no small feat itself and many do not make it to that level." He explained.

"Why is that?" Yakumo asked him.

"Simple some don't have the drive, chakra, or time to become one." He told her as she nodded.

"So the road to become one is very hard. I knew that from the very beginning." she told him as he nodded.

"Sometimes it takes a different perspective to see how your mother and father go to the lengths to make sure you are healthy and happy. Not everyone has the luxury of talking to their parents face to face."

Yakumo dropped her head. "True, I don't see Honoka's parents along with Naruto's. Did you know them uncle?" she curiously asked.

"I knew of the Uchiha clan Fugaku and Mikoto a long time ago, but they have grown very distant from us ever since the Kyubi attack. However, it's unhealthy to keep the pressure on you to help recover the clan's prestige. We saw what happened when Fugaku forced Itachi to become a ninja too early and he snapped."

Yakumo frowned. "I know… it makes even all the sadder that people like Shisui, Itachi, and apparently Kakashi-sensei never grew up normal. I can only assume Yamato-sensei is almost the same as well in some way." she pointed out.

Unkai spoke again. "True, almost every prodigy has some type of mental problems. It's sad, but the political view in Konoha keeps them from being examined by proper psychiatrists. It was only recently that a the Hokage place a mandatory medical check up on Shinobi each mission." Unkai told her as he clicked his fingers. "That reminds me, were you at the last clan meeting."

Yakumo frowned. "I have and I am not too happy what some people have been saying lately. They would like to be married one day…" she frowned.

Unkai sighed. "It's not easy being in a clan isn't it?" he asked her.

"It feels like everything is already decided for you and I don't like what they are insutating. I need someone to help complete me and my life as a future clan leader. I don't even see Shikamaru complaining or struggling about such a thing. I don't even see Hinata in any potential arranged marriage. Some idiots want me to marry Sasuke or someone in the upper class to increase the clan's strength and political view.

Unkai spoke up. "Well, we are lucky your parents' never signed a marriage contract to any clan then. You are free to explore your heart's true inner desires." he told her. "Besides that. who would want to marry a stuck up boy with no manners. Last time I remember…" he stopped for a moment.

He felt a presence nearby as he looked up. "It seems we have an incoming guest," he told her. As he looked down the path to see as they saw a raven haired woman walking down the path. Yakumo noticed her crimson eyes from afar.

"Kurenai-san," Yakumo muttered as she stared at the woman.

"Well, it's good to see you are good health Kurenai-san, how have you been doing lately?" Unkai greeted her.

She walked upon the group and gave a short bow. "It's good to see you are doing well Unkai-san and Yakumo-chan. Do you mind if I have a word with Yakumo for a moment?" Kurenai asked Unkai.

He turned towards her niece. "Yakumo, I know you might not like her as much, but please be civil, please." Unkai told her quietly as the girl sighed.

"Yes, uncle Unkai," she agreed as the old man got up from the blanket and began heading down the path to the nearby villa.

Kurenai sat down next to her as Yakumo poured her some iced tea into a cup and gave her some rice balls. Kurenai noticed the painting of her team. Yakumo passed her the refreshments to her as Kurenai took them greatly.

"It's been quite some time, since we actually talked one on one like this." she told her.

Yakumo nodded. "True…" she answered shortly. "However, I don't see the reason why you are here? Personally, I was enjoying my week off of training and stress."

Kurenai frowned. "Do you really think that bad about me Yakumo, I wasn't a good teacher five years ago." she asked her.

Yakumo shrugged. "I couldn't have become a ninja without Shisui's help and Naruto five years ago. Truthfully, you don't know how happy I became by being one." Yakumo explained. "At first I wanted to become a Jonin ranked ninja no matter what, to increase our clan's prestige again. However, our last mission showed me we can do a lot of good if we put our minds together." She explained.

"I see, so are you mad that I never exhausted my all my of my options at that time." she told her.

Yakumo sighed sipping her tea as she looked over Konoha. "It's not that… I thought you would believe in me a bit more. Tell me that there was no easy path to become one with my condition. Rock Lee, didn't give up and he became a genin with Neji Hyuga and Tenten." Yakumo admitted.

"Maybe I should have placed more faith in you, but know your a proud kunoichi now. You got people like Naruto believing you can do it now." Kurenai told her as she patted her as she blushed.

"True, but I'm sensing that this conversation isn't truly about me." Yakumo surmised.

Kurenai nodded. "True, I am having doubts that I am not a good teacher to my students." she honestly told her.

"You mean Hinata, right?" Yakumo asked. "I can't see Kiba and Shino have any real problems with confidence unlike Hinata."

"True, I place my confidence in her and try helping her only to fail at times. Sometimes I think Hinata isn't ready to be a shinobi at heart. Being indecisive at heart and soft spoken… she is the complete opposite of you completely." she told her.

"I may not know everything about her personal problems, but I know for a fact she has no faith in herself." Yakumo pointed out. "Honoka herself, has faith in herself as well her abilities. I can only assume the pressure her clan is too much for her to endure."

"I am guessing you are going through your own problems now being a potential clan head, now?" Kurenai asked her.

Yakumo frowned as she looked away in the distance. "Talks about marriage and the future of the clan is not something I want to talk about Kurenai-sensei. They are disgusting to me and it doesn't bring anyone happiness." Yakumo commented harshly on it. "If we are supposed to be the future we have a right in choosing what action we need to carry out."

Kurenai's eyes flickered with a bit of sadness. "Well, that is something I can agree on." Kurenai told her.

Yakumo turned towards Kurenai. "It was never your teaching style that was wrong you just never had a student with certain needs like Hinata and I. I am sorry I was impatient with you from the very beginning." Yakumo apologized.

Kurenai smiled, patting her head as Yakumo blushed slightly. "Thank you," Kurenai thanked her as she pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Your welcome…" Yakumo muttered as he laid her head comfortably on her chest.

.X.

Naruto was walking back home as he yawned loudly. He walked calmly down the street as he carried a brown messenger bag on his shoulder. He wore a black under armour over his mesh shirt. He quickly adjusted his black jacket that had a single orange line going down the sleeves. He wore pants that had a similar design that went down the sides. His black sandals kicked across the ground with a bit of joy.

He held Shisui at his side today, since he was attending lessons with Rin. As he was learning real quickly that math in question was a very important factor into Fuinjutsu as well. As Rin drilled home the importance the three taboos every ninja that make them go bad.

Alcohol was the first, but he wasn't old to drink anyway and from he heard alcohol didn't even taste good at all to him. Well, unless you count using red wine and sake to help cook with certain foods.

Well the second rule pertained to both men and women in a way. Since the opposite sex could make you do something stupid and regret something in the end.

Third was money and that it could easily ruin your life if you got greedy and careless. Well, he was smart to save up his money and invest properly due to Itachi's lessons in economics when he was younger. He even invested Kenchi Kaneki's business so he was making money on the side, despite not going on missions.

Then the dreadful lesson about learning about the opposite sex was embarrassing. Mai was also there asking him questions about certain things. As he quickly learned that their was a jutsu that lowered the sperm count completely to ensure that they didn't get a woman pregnant.

He rounded the corner seeing uncommon occurrence in the road. He saw a square rock that failed to blend in the road. As it had eye holes as Naruto smirked. He quickly walked up to it and stared at it for a moment. He flicked out his sword cutting it open as he heard screaming coming from it.

"Do you realize there is no such thing as a square rock you guys?" Naruto told them as he flicked his sword back into his sheath.

Konohamaru looked at him with a smirk. "You saw through my camouflage again, I would expect no less from my rival." Konohamaru told Naruto.

He noticed two other children sitting beside them wearing goggles like Konohamaru. "You brought friends along with you this time, eh Konohamaru." Naruto asked him.

The first boy stood up and introduced himself. "My name is Udon," he introduced himself.

As the girl with orange hair and pigtails jumped up. "My name is Moegi and a kunoichi in training." she introduced herself.

"See boss, we finally made a team like you have one!" Konohamaru finally told him.

Naruto shrugged. "I see, but you guys should work on your stealth skills more. Truthfully, you should have become a garbage can or a cardboard box if you want to fit in this environment more." Naruto lectured as he looked around the street.

"I knew we should have tried that," Udon muttered as Konohamaru blushed.

"So what brings you around here you guys?" Naruto asked him.

"You promised me you would play ninja with us, remember?" Konohamaru reminded him. Naruto took out his daily planner to check his schedule. He quickly looked at his pocket watch to check the time.

"I did… yet, why aren't you guys in school. Are you skipping or something?" Naruto asked as he put away his things in his bag.

"Well, they are doing something special function at the Academy lately, I think they are updating it's interior." Udon told him.

"Konohamaru tells us you're the number one rookie of this year's graduating class. He says you know all sorts of cool things." Moegi told him.

"Come on boss, I know you're not busy lately, so you can play ninja with us uninterrupted." Konohamaru pleaded.

Naruto shrugged, thinking about it for a moment. _"I could see why Shisui felt so happy and proud to teach me years ago._ " Naruto thought.

"Why not, but if we are playing ninja, why not learn practical stuff along with it. We can learn how to throw a real kunai and shuriken for fun." Naruto offered as they cheered.

"Really boss, you are going to teach us how to throw one. Iruka-sensei hasn't gotten around to teaching us yet," Konohamaru asked him.

Naruto nodded his head with a smile. "Of course, but I am only letting you use the blunt ones first. I don't want you guys having an accident and I have to take you guys to the hospital." Naruto lectured as he waved them to follow him to his apartment complex. "Besides that, we can eat Mochi Ice cream to beat the heat today."

They cheered again happily as Konohamaru and then rushed towards the apartment. He felt a familiar presence up ahead. He looked up into a nearby tree to see Sasuke sitting in it. "What brings you here Sasuke? I didn't expect you to ever visit me?"

Sasuke shrugged. "About time you got home Naruto, I have been waiting for a good hour to talk to you about something privately."

"Who is this guy, boss?" Konohamaru asked him.

"Sasuke Uchiha, and he is not a social person by nature you guys." Naruto introduced him.

"You want to talk to Naruto in private about what?" Udon asked.

"We wanted to play ninja with him." Moegi told him.

"Playing ninja, while being a ninja. That sounds so silly. "Sasuke mocked Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe to you, but a promise is a promise." Naruto made the seal for the Kage bunshin appeared.

"Go show them around back the apartment complex and pull out the training equipment for them. I will be busy talking to Sasuke about something." Naruto told his clone.

Three academy students followed his clone back around apartment complex. Naruto saw Sasuke jump out the tree. "So you want to talk in private, huh? Do you mind having tea and a snack?" Naruto asked him.

"Tomatoes and rice balls will do just fine." Sasuke told him.

As he lead Sasuke up to his apartment complex and unlocked the door. He quickly the wall near the door. As a seal turned green and then red spreading across the apartment complex. Sasuke looked on in wonder.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked him.

"I activated a privacy seal to ensure no one can hear us talk if someone gets a bit too curious." he made sure to lock the door. Sasuke looked around Naruto's apartment to see the various paintings on the wall.

"I can see Yakumo has visited your place a lot." as he noticed the painting of Shisui on the wall. "You have a picture of Shisui on your wall as well."

Naruto nodded. "Of course, it was one of the first paintings we did together along with Shisui before he died. We even managed to make a portrait and a picture that goes along with it, but it's in storage.

Sasuke shrugged. "Since we are talking about him, this relates to Shisui." Sasuke told him.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you mean by that Sasuke?" Naruto asked him.

"It's quite simple really, I want to see if he left any notes behind on how the Sharingan works in general along with some training information he did in the past. I can only assume he has left notes on how Itachi trained in his youth as well." Sasuke bluntly told him.

Naruto turned him to face him with a serious look. "I see…" Naruto muttered.

" _Well this isn't good at all, I didn't expect him to come out the blue asking notes on the sharingan. However, the notes and the diary Shisui left behind says some disturbing things. The Mangekyo Sharingan as well, a powerful dojutsu that unlocks another tier of power to the user as the cost of becoming blind in the end._

 _To gain such an important skill you will need to cause the death of a loved one with your hands or witness it. Shisui in question allowed his friend and rival to die. Personally that person was a traitor, but he felt responsible for his death. He could have easily got him medical attention, but he knew he would have been executed anyway. He was quickly dissuaded in using its ability because it drained chakra and you dulled your eyes over time. He had only used it twice and started noticing its effects._

 _With Sasuke's power hungry attitude and the need to avenge his clan. It would be someone…"_

"Hey, why are you freezing up like you dobe," Sasuke asked him.

"I don't think we need to talk about such a thing Sasuke, your Sharingan will develop over time the more you use it. Personally, I feel you are unworthy of seeing anything of Shisui's personal possessions. For someone never visiting his grave and never giving someone the time of day. He entrusted me with his belongings and no one contested it for five years straight."

"This is my birthright Naruto, I deserve to see it?" Sasuke told him.

"You are confusing your birthright with Shisui's personal belongings as well his feelings. No one came to his funeral five years ago and never even arranged it. I am feeling that your search for power is leaving you blinded from the things around you. I know for a fact Shisui would want to use his ability to help people."

"You hold onto his memory in your heart well, but it was that bastard that killed him." he pointed out.

Naruto shrugged going towards the kitchen. "I highly doubt that Itachi killed him, Sasuke. Shisui wasn't a lightweight and he was the only person to match Itachi in a fight." Naruto believed as he grabbed the snacks for Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted. _"Why the hell is he making this difficult, what use it to hold onto notes that don't pertain to him. Naruto isn't the type to chase after power. How am I going to avenge the clan if I don't have a clue how the Sharingan truly works?"_ Sasuke thought.

"My question, why are you trying to stop me from obtaining these notes?" Sasuke asked him calmly.

"I know Shisui himself…" Naruto stopped and frowned. "It's complicated and I will need to ask you to leave now. I need some time to think about it before I give you an answer why." Naruto told him.

He handed Sasuke his snacks only for him to refuse it. " **Why not answer me now? Why don't you want me getting my hands on those notes?** " Sasuke demanded Naruto.

As the two glared at each other. "Simply put, you don't deserve those notes and he entrusted them to me for a reason." Naruto answered him. "After all this time you come here asking for his things like you deserve them. Shisui isn't the clan he was my first real teacher and friend. If you can't see that get out! I won't let you use his memory as a tool for revenge. Do it with your own two hands like you wanted and keep me out of it."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open with the Sharingan as Naruto quickly placed his sword on his hilt.

"You are saying I'm not worthy to see his notes! He was still a member of my clan." Sasuke told them.

"Hey boss, where is the ice cream?" Konohamaru called out as he saw Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon standing there with his clone in confusion.

"Hey, what's going here boss?"

Naruto flicked his sword back into his sheath. "Sasuke and I were having a disagreement over something that is quite personal for the both of us. Pay it no mind you guys." Naruto told him.

He handed Sasuke the snacks forcibly as he went into the kitchen.

Udon looked a bit worried. "Almost drawing a sword on someone doesn't seem like argument…" he muttered.

"Hey, since you guys were going to fight, what does a real shinobi fight look like?" Konohamaru asked them as Naruto grabbed the ice cream in question.

Sasuke smirked. "Why not, we can easily settle our argument on who wins our match." Sasuke suggested.

Naruto contemplated it for a moment. "Fine, if you win you can have them, but if I win you will drop the notion of obtaining Shisui's notes as well his diary." Naruto agreed.

Konohamaru pumped his fist. "Finally, we will get to see a real shinobi fight!" he cheered.

Moegi looked a bit worried. "Who is going to monitor the match?" she asked them.

"It will be us Moegi, since we are the only ones here." he reassured her.

"I don't think we are qualified to be referee to a match, when we don't know any ninja techniques, yet." Udon lectured them as they made their way out the building after the two genin.

.X.

Kakashi and Rin were having a meeting on a bridge where Team 7 naturally gathered in the morning. Tai's mother and the Sakura's parents were with them having a meeting. As Kakashi was explaining the situation with them as Rin stood by answering their questions.

"So you are telling us it was a trap to lure out Sasuke Uchiha, huh?" Kizashi told them.

"I'm a bit more worried about Sakura was kidnapped with ease. Doesn't she go through rigorous training with you guys." Mebuki voiced.

"I didn't think such a trap would be springed like that. Nor they were prepared for such a thing to happen. Lately I have been going over drills and scenarios to ensure that doesn't happen." Kakashi explained.

Tai's mother Yuuko spoke up. "I heard Tai did really well in the fight against missing-nin, but will this be a common occurrence in the future." She worriedly asked.

"We don't let rookie ninja fight battles like that off the bat. However, they aren't the only team to be attacked by enemy ninja as well. Team 3 made it okay themselves during their first mission…" Kakashi explained.

"Another team was attacked and for what reason?" They asked.

"They were protecting a client that had a political implications to it." Rin answered them. "So far they are fine for the most part and I had a talk to Sakura to ensure she knew preventative measures against rape or unwanted pregnancies in general."

Mebuki nodded. "Thank goodness, but what about their third teammate Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked him.

Kakashi spoke up. "He still has some issues from five years ago and he has a hard time admitting his feelings on certain subjects. Personally their teamwork in question was flawless in the last mission. However, he seems to be slipping back to his old habits." Kakashi honestly admitted.

Yuuko spoke up. "I heard from a friend that the Chunin Exams are coming up now." she pointed out. "Will you try to enter them into it?"

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Truthfully, I will nominate them, but under the guise of a reality check they desperately needed. That way it takes the pressure off me politically by allowing the chance to let them try. However, they must all agree of attending the exam together. If one doesn't show up they all don't take the exam." Kakashi reasoned.

"I know from experience that these exams are dangerous in nature. Are you sure it's a wise okay?" Kizashi asked Kakashi.

"It's either the chaotic battlefield or the Chunin Exams that are a bit under our control. Since our village is hosting it, we have a good chance many will make it out okay." Kakashi suggested as their parents nodded. "Any questions?"

Yuuko raised up her hand. "Why are you always so late to their meeting spots?" she asked him.

Kakashi sighed. "I am often getting a professional opinion from others or mentally preparing myself for their training. It's not easy being a Jonin-sensei since you have to worry after your students. I have been on the force for twenty years so far." Kakashi told him.

Rin silently glared at him. "If you have any questions, please direct them to me, since I'm the easiest to find between each other." she told them.

As the group broke apart as Rin hit him in the stomach. "You shouldn't be making excuses like that Kakashi."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's true, I am not much as sensei as Minato-sensei." Kakashi honestly admitted.

Rin smiled dimly. "True, and I miss Minato-sensei, a lot along with Kushina-san. Yet, it doesn't excuse you for being a bad sensei. Yamato is a first time Jonin-sensei too, and he is doing a better job than you." She told him.

Kakashi sighed. "He was lucky to have a team that had manners and a personality that encouraged teamwork. Furthermore, having friends' all together on a team seems like cheating to me." Kakashi told the medic-nin.

"Even if you got them as your team, they would have passed your test with flying colors." Rin pointed out. "They would eventually followed you to your apartment and make sure you would come on time as well."

Kakashi sighed. "Yeah, Naruto I didn't expect him to become a sensory ninja." Kakashi agreed. "By the way, what has he been learning from from you this past week?"

"I am getting him to focus a bit more on his education along explain the consequences of not keeping it in your pants." Rin reminded him.

"The three taboos, huh… still, did you take him in the week because you felt guilty, he was alone for eight years." Kakashi called out.

Rin dropped her head a bit. "We should have been there for him and I missed out on twelve years of knowing him." she told him.

Kakashi sighed. "True, but at that time we were both having our problems and if someone knew the truth about Naruto's heritage he would have been in trouble. At least he didn't have to grow up alone and he found people that accept him for being him. He even has a few cute girls that possibly…" Kakashi told him.

Rin elbowed him again in the chest playfully. "Don't go there Kakashi, I am not letting you pervert his childhood." She told him.

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I know for a certain, Hinata Hyuga was stalking him way back at the Academy. Yakumo is trying to act professional, but she has a soft spot for him and admires his tenacity. Then their Honoka-chan, who loves Naruto's honesty and upbeat attitude." Kakashi told her. "Maybe I should send a letter about their situation to Jiraiya-sama for his next book."

Rin pouted at him. "Do that and I will ensure hell will be on your doorstep Kakashi. I know I will have Uroko-san and Mai backing me up on this." she told him.

Kakashi shrugged. "It's been a while since we actually talked like this haven't we, Rin?" Kakashi told her.

"True, but it's always so hard trying to start a conversation with you. You being in Anbu didn't help it along with hours at the hospital or emergency missions." Rin told them as they were nearing Naruto's apartment complex.

Kakashi noticed the direction, where they were going now. "Why are we going to Naruto's apartment?"

Rin pointed her finger up. "I need to make sure he isn't trying to train or work so hard on Fuinjutsu. You know how dangerous it is trying to create your own seals." Rin explained.

Kakashi shrugged. "I just don't understand how he hasn't blown himself up so far." Kakashi muttered.

Rin nodded. "True, but he is trying his hand now and trying to replicate medical techniques like Shosen no jutsu (mystical palm). However, he is trying to finish his fire seal he is creating." Rin explained.

Kakashi sniffed the air for a moment. "That's weird, why is Sasuke around Naruto's apartment?" He asked as he took a moment to think about it.

"Are Naruto and Sasuke are on speaking terms, right?" Rin asked him.

Kakashi shrugged. "Yes, but Sasuke in general sees Naruto as a rival, he doesn't want to lose to. The problem I am thinking is the fact Sasuke might be trying to bypass me by trying to gain notes on how the Sharingan works."

Rin looked up at Kakashi with confusion. "I thought the Uchiha clan in question never wrote down how to master the Sharingan?" Rin asked him.

"True, they did that to ensure no one would learn the secret of how the Sharingan worked, especially to outsiders. Everything I know about it is about the notes the Senju left or by using it over the years." Kakashi told her. "Shisui on the other hand, might have left tips on how to master it along with some training tips."

Kakashi sped up their pace as they saw the two genin in the back yard. As their spectators watched from the balcony away from it.

"Before we begin, let's make sure we don't do anything drastic. We are still within village limits and I don't want anyone taking a trip to the hospital." Naruto started out.

"It sounds like you're scared of the outcome Naruto," Sasuke pointed out as he smirked. "I am going to win those notes from you with ease."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, I am just scared... you might burn down someone's home, while they are in it. I am not letting you get your hands on his notes and taint his Shisui's memory. You came five years too late to claim anything." Naruto told him as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yo, you guys!" Kakashi called out as the two genin saw the two Jonin in question.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke muttered as he frowned.

"Naruto does have a point Sasuke, fighting within a dense populated area seems like a bad idea to me. You could have easily taken this to a training ground if you didn't want people noticing this fight." Kakashi told him.

Naruto sighed as he saw Rin's gaze. "I thought we said no fighting or training for the whole week, Naruto."

Naruto nodded slowly. "True, but he wasn't taking no as answer." Naruto honestly admitted.

"What is this about fighting over some notes?" Rin asked them as Sasuke stayed quiet. Naruto looked a bit sadden by the news.

Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Normally, my first question is why now Sasuke? If Naruto has inherited Shisui's notes you can have easily asked him within the five years to look at them. Yet, you bypassed me to come to Naruto."

"Naruto doesn't have the Sharingan, Kakashi-sensei. So I didn't think it would be a problem of attaining them. However, he doesn't even want me to see them." Sasuke reasoned.

Kakashi looked over to Naruto. "Naruto, may I have a word with you for a moment?" Kakashi asked him.

Naruto nodded. "Okay Kakashi-sensei," Naruto agreed.

"Aw man, we wanted to see a ninja fight," Konohamaru muttered.

RIn looked up at them. "You three go home, you guys can play with Naruto some other time." she ordered them as they looked dejected.

"Sorry guys, but if you have some other time." Naruto apologized. "You can take that mochi ice cream with you as an apology."

The three kids cheered happily as Kakashi escorted Naruto around the front of the apartment complex.

"I know Rin might not be happy, however, a fight didn't place, yet." Kakashi told him. "My question is what so dangerous in those notes Shisui's left behind. I can obviously tell it's not good at all and it's shaken you." Kakashi told him.

Naruto frowned a bit as he looked at the silver haired Jonin. "It talks about the evolution of the Sharingan called the Mangekyo Sharingan." Naruto told him.

" I can safely say, I know about it from Madara Uchiha." Kakashi reminded him.

Naruto nodded. "You don't know how he obtained it Kakashi-sensei. From what the notes told me to evolve it into a Mangekyo Sharingan you would need to kill… your closest friend or watch them die." Naruto explained.

Kakashi froze up by this information. "You aren't joking are you, Naruto?" Kakashi asked him.

Naruto nodded, "I can show you the notes if you want, but Shisui gained after seeing his rival dying. I figured if Sasuke learned that he might try to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan." Naruto admitted.

Kakashi frowned. "I see… show me these notes on this information." Kakashi told him. Naruto lead up him up to his apartment. As it took a good twenty minutes to sort out the details with the notes.

Kakashi came back outside to see Sasuke and Rin were sitting outside. "Sasuke, go home and I will talk to you tomorrow about a few things." Kakashi told as the raven haired boy reluctantly left the area.

"So what's the verdict?" Rin asked him.

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto had a valid reason to not show Sasuke those notes. It seems to detail how the history of the Uchiha clan, but it holds a dark secret." Kakashi told her as Rin sensed Kakashi's mood was serious.

Rin turned to Naruto. "I see…" She muttered. As she turned towards Naruto patting his head. "Well you are off the hook for now, but next time come to me or Iruka if you have problems Naruto."

"Yes, ma'am?" Naruto agreed.

"To make sure you don't anything rash I will be staying over your house for a while." Rin told him.

"So you can enjoy his cooking like Yamato does?" Kakashi joked as Rin elbowed him.

"I could always ask Yuuko-san if you want to try her cooking if you are feeling jealous." Rin reminded him.

As a shiver went down his back as Kakashi nodded. "No thank you," Kakashi told her as he remembered her cooking.

Naruto spoke up now. "I might as well straighten up the guest room ready then," Naruto told her. He easily flickered out of view from their sight.

"Impressive speed for a shunshin…" Kakashi pointed out as it left no trace of his footsteps.

Rin smiled. "He could be a great first responder to an emergency mission or help wounded allies if Naruto had talent in medical ninjutsu." Rin quoted as she looked at wrist watch. "Still, I have to head home and grab some things so I can stay over his place." Rin told him as she quickly used a shunshin.

Kakashi shrugged. "That just leaves me with Sasuke, who is acting impatient for the moment." Kakashi muttered as he walked away. He noticed a nearby mirror from a shop as he stopped for a moment.

" _I wonder… does Obito's eye evolve under stress. I know I have seen a lot of friends die…"_ Kakashi thought.

He lifted up his headband and focused chakra to his eye. He saw the shift in the eye formation and frowned. He quickly lowered it back down to conserve his chakra.

" _His eye, no the Sharingan itself mirrors tragedy and chaos from one's heart. Now I have to do everything in my power to ensure Sasuke stays on a good path. Preventing the Mangekyo Sharingan from awakening will likely be impossible if he forms a real bond."_ he thought.

.X.

 **Well the chapter is over and I'm sorry that I was late getting this chapter out to you guys. Work in question leaves me so tired and unable to think properly. Truthfully it's been getting stressful at work with the constant problems I face and it's mostly due to manangement in question.**

 **However, let's stop thinking about that. I plan on setting up the for the Chunin Exams. Lately I have reviewing the joint Chunin Exams that were filler in Naruto Shippuden. The characters they present are interesting themselves and I can see Kishimoto could have easily made the first Chunin Exam easily hard. Truthfully he wanted it to feel like Togashi's hunter x hunter exam, but failed so hard at it. Plus his experience with girl characters in question were terrible in the beginning.**

 **To answer some questions from some reviews. Having Rin in this story does not ruin the story at all. It was a cop-out Kishi did to make Obito evil. Number 2 the chakra chains themselves were never exclusive to Kushina. Honoka from another filler arc was an Uzumaki was well and could create chains using Fuinjutsu formula. Furthermore, Naruto's capabilities may be bit ahead in the fighting department, but his other skills like genjutsu, and chakra control.**

 **I can also add the fact that Yamato, Kakashi, and Gai could have been easily Kage in regards to their skill level and strength.**

 **As for the spars with other teams it would showcase their strengths with the other teams a bit too early for my taste. Don't get me get wrong it's a wonderful idea, but they still have the mentally of their Academy days in their mind. It would be embarrassing to the others if their skills weren't polished enough.**

 **Naruto's dark side hasn't been fully touched upon on this chapter, but Mai as well Rin know it's there. Safely saying it could also be Naruto's trigger for the Kyubi mode. I always noticed it always triggered the most when he wanted to save someone dear to him or his life was in mortal danger.**

 **Personally I made add a filler chapter to bridge the chunin exams and to make sure they weren't pathetic as the canon's version of it. Plus the rookie genin test Iruka gave Team 7 was silly to me in a way. Simple hostage mission for Naruto, genjutsu test for Sakura, and a simple fight with Sasuke.**

 **A test like that should have included the whole team and then separate them to see how they react. Hopefully they would see some chunin rank skills from the candidates… well for the rookies I mean.**

 **So I hope you can endure the countdown to the Exams and understand the character interactions I presented in this chapter. I plan on keeping at least three to four people's viewpoints in the story to keep it a bit fresh. I hope to hear your thoughts in your reviews about this chapter. What I need to improve on the most. I know my grammar isn't dead on, but finding a willing beta reader is hard. I sent out several PM's to beta's and heard nothing from them.**

 **This Kazama the Shell Bullet signing out!**


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